How to Train Your Dragon by Thora Diana Haddock
by Shiningstar Girl 777
Summary: Thora never really had a true friend, besides her mother. But she has found one in a Night Fury who was supposed to be her enemy, named Midnight. Will she risk everything to protect him? Climax in this chapter and original chapters after this. Please, read, comment, review what you like, and recommend it to others. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1 Raid in the Village

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter one-Raid in the Village**_

_**This is Berk, my home. It's twelve days north of hopeless and the nearest civilization and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It's located on the meridian of misery. **_

_** My village, in a word, sturdy. It has been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. There's fishing, hunting, and beautiful views of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. **_Suddenly, an unexpecting sheep was snatched up by long claws, and as if nothing happened, another sheep went over to the same place where the other sheep was and continued to gaze. _**While some places have mice or mosquitoes, we have…**_

I have just woken up from the commotion outside. I had change out of my nightgown and put on my brown Viking boots, green shirt with the brown belt, my locket with the emerald, and my brown skirt, and put parts of my long auburn hair into braids and tied in the back.

I ran downstairs and open the front door. When I opened the door, there was a huge red monstrous nightmare spotted me and shot a stream of fire at me, but I shut the door in time with my back against _**"…Dragons"**_ I said.

Outside, the men of my village were running, screaming, grabbing as many of the sheep and chickens as they could, and attacking all of the dragons they could see. At the same time, the women and older children of the village were busy putting out the fires and avoid the dragons. _**"You see, most sane people would leave, but not us, all the men in the village are Vikings, they have stubbornness issues."**_

_**"My name's Thora, Thora Diana Haddock" **_I was running towards the blacksmith shop where I worked. I had a couple of close calls with dragons' blasts and the men keep telling me to get back inside my house.

One time, I was almost burn to a crisp by a gronkle, but a big grabbed me by the back of my shirt. _"Thora! What is she doing out? What are you doing out? Get inside now young lady!" _as he flung me towards the nearest house.

The man was at least eight feet tall with the reddest and biggest braided beard in the whole village and arms the size of the smallest boulders on the whole island of Berk. _**"That is Stoick the Vast; he's the chief of the Hairy Hooligans, our people. I've been told that when he was a baby, he ripped a dragon's head clean off of its shoulders. Is that true?"**_He lifted a wagon with one hand and threw it at a dragon passing over head and it was a bull's eye. _**"Yes it definitely is!"**_

_ "What have we got?" _he asked another Viking. _"Gronkles, Nadders, Zipplebacks, and hordes of Monstrous Nightmares." _Then an explosioncame out of nowhere and pieces of woods flew everywhere. The other Viking covered himself with his shield, while Stoick just stood there and asked _"Any Night Furies?" "None so far_." Stoick swept a small piece of burning wood off of his shoulder as if it was nothing. _"Good!"_ he said.

They lit huge bowls with fire and lifted into the sky to see the dragons more clearly.

I had arrived at the blacksmith's shop. In there was a man about a foot shorter than Stoick. He had a long blonde braided mustache, he was missing his left hand that was replaced with a hammer, and he was also missing his right foot. _"Oh, nice of you to join the party, I thought you wouldn't make it here." _I put on an apron_ "What! Come on I'm way too fast for them to catch me, they wouldn't be able to keep up with all of this on land" _I said conquering up a few muscles. _"Well they need toothpicks don't they?"_ the blacksmith said jokingly. _"I'm not that skinny!"_ I grumbled snappishly.

_**"The blacksmith's name is Gobbler the Belch. Normally a woman wouldn't be working here, but Gobbler is my father's best friend, so he let me work there as his assistant/apprentice ever since I was seven years. It's better than working as future housewife."**_I've started taking the smashed weapons from the Vikings who dropped them off to fix them up.

Meanwhile, Stoick ordered the other Vikings _"We'll move to the wall for defenses, we'll counter them with the catapults." _He and a few more Vikings took some sheep to a safer place. The dragons set some of the houses next to them on fire._**"See old village lots of new houses." **___

Outside, were a few teenagers about my age putting out the fires. A big chubby boy, _**"That's Fishlegs."**_a brawny mean looking boy (And unfortunately my cousin on my father's side) _**"Snotlout"**_a blonde boy and girl fighting over a bucket of water (Which is normal for them to be fighting) _**"The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut and…"**_one of the most amazing boys I have ever seen and who just moved to Berk with his mother a week ago. _**"…Asgerd"**_ There was an explosion right behind him, which made him shine with courage and confidence; I really admire him for that. The other teenagers joined him as if he was their leader. I wanted to be out there so bad, being out was a whole lot better than being cooped up in the shop.

I leaned out the window to get a closer look at them, but a certain handicapped Viking pulled me back in. _"Oh come on Gobbler let me out there, I have to make my mark as a Viking!"_ I said. Gobbler smiled amusedly. _"First of all, you have made marks, just in all the wrong places, second of all you know you can't be a Viking."_ The only they say I can't be a Viking is because I'm a girl. _"Come on"_ I protested _"Two minutes, I'll kill a dragon, my life will get much better, and I might get a decent suitor who will like me for who I am."_

_"Even if you are allowed to be a Viking, you can't lift a hammer, you can't swing an axe, you can't even throw one of these." _As he finished the sentence, a Viking grabbed the bolas out of his hand and threw it at a Gronkle sending it down.

_"Okay, lifting boulders is not my specialty." _I said, _"That does not mean I'm not worthy of being a Viking, plus, those stones with the ropes at the ends are called __**Bolas**__"_ I pointed out. He blushed for a bit that I knew what it was and he didn't. _"However, this little intention of mine will fire for me more accurately and farther" _I had made a bolas launcher for more complicated situations, but when I touched it, bolas flew out by themselves and knocked a Viking out cold. _"Sorry" _I called out.

_"Now this right here is what I'm talking about lass!"_ Gobbler shouted mad as a Gronkle that had its nap interrupted. (Not a pretty sight!)

_"I just forgot to hook it closed that's all" _I protested. _"Look missy!" _Gobbler said. _"If you want things to change to need to stop all…" _he swept his err… hands in front of me trying to find the right word. _"…this."_

I looked at myself confused and flabbergasted. _"But you just pointed to all of me?"_

_ "Yes, that's it" _he said _"Stop being all of you" "Ohhhhhhhh!" _I said _"Ohhhhhh yeah!"_ he mocked. _"You mister are playing a dangerous game, keeping all of this Viking potential contained, there will be serious consequences!" _ I shouted. _"I'll take my chances" _Gobbler unimpressed, _"Sword sharpen now!" _So I went to the grinding to sharpen the sword he handed me.

_ Y_ou guessed it, my dream to become a great and honorable Viking like my father. _**"Someday I'll be out there fighting the enemies, sailing to new places beyond the waves of Berk, and protecting the village. But first, I have to kill a dragon."**_

I figured if I kill a dragon, I would automatically be a full-fledged Viking. I don't really believe in unnecessary killing, slaying those overgrown reptiles seems more like a side job to me. But I'm determined to be a great warrior.

"_**A blue Nadder would get me noticed at least, a tough Gronkle will definitely get me a wonderful boyfriend, a Zippleback two-heads twice the chance of me being a Viking." **_

_"They've found the sheep!" _said a Vikingstationed at one of the catapult towers. _"Focus_ _fire over the whole bank" _ordered Stoick as he turned the catapult over where the dragons were attacking the sheep.

_**"Then the Monstrous Nightmare, only the best Vikings go after those, so that can be a shortcut." **_

A Monstrous Nightmare attacked the tower where Stoick was. It was on fire, which didn't harm it, that was its habit to set itself on fire. _"Reload! I'll take care of this" _Then Stoick started to hit the dragon in the head with his hammer.

Then there was a high pitch shrill in the air. Both Vikings and dragons both stopped fighting for a moment. The sound got louder. It was the prize that anyone would to die to kill it. Then someone shouted _"Night Fury!"_ Then another one said _"Get Down!" _The fire from the mysterious beast was blue, but when it hit the tower, it turned red and the tower crumbled. The inexplicable creature just zoomed by. _"Jump!" _ordered Stoick as he and the others jumped just in the nick of time.

I had stopped working to try to catch a glimpse of this furtive dragon. _**"From what I've been told, this dragon never steals food, never reveals itself, and apparently…" **_Another shot hit the already flaming tower. _**"…never misses."**_

Then I realized that no one has ever killed a night fury, so I being the first one ever to do so, would make me a Viking faster than killing a Nightmare. _"Man or… woman the fort Thora, they need me out there." _Gobbler said attaching an ax to his left arm. Before he got out the door, he turned around to face me and pointed to the spot I was standing. _"Stay…put…there" _I stood there with an innocent smile like I wasn't going anywhere. _"You know what I mean." _Then he wobbled off with a battle cry. _**"You didn't say for how long." **_I thought to myself as I prepare to use my launcher on the Night Fury outside.

I took off my apron, and lifted the end of the launcher like a wheelbarrow. I ran through the village I as fast as I could swerving between the men. Not to brag or anything, but Vikings are not know for really fast running due to their size, so I'm consider the fastest in the village. Although, people said that's cowardly of me, but I find it a very useful skill.

Meanwhile, a bunch of dragons surrounded a flock of sheep ready to take them. However, Stoick threw a net over them to restrain their movement. _"Mind yourselves, the beasts still have some juice in them" _said Stoick as a Nadder breathe a stream of inferno into the air. Nevertheless, Stoick clamped its snout closed to keep them from using it.

I had found a clearing at the edge of the village where nobody and no other dragon can bother me, and set up my launcher. It was next to a different tower, I presume that's where the dragon will attack next. _"Come on, I need something to shoot at." _I whispered to myself. _"Here Dragon Dragon Dragon!" _

Lucky for me the stars were very bright tonight. I was able to notice a dark figure cover a familiar constellation I knew. It was unknown shape to me, so it had to be the Night Fury. Then I heard another high pitch shrill, I turned my invention to the tower and sure enough the dragon destroyed the tower and whizzed past as I saw its shadowy outline. I aimed as fast I could and pulled the trigger. The force of the launch threw me back to the ground as the bolas soared through the air. Then I heard the shrill and saw the black body fell uncontrollably towards Raven Point.

_"What… I hit it?" _I said in disbelief._ "Yes I hit it! Viking hood here I come!" _I turned around to see if somebody, anybody saw what I did. _"Did anybody see that just now?" _Suddenly I heard a loud crunch of wood from behind me. Something must have happen to my launcher. I also heard a menacing growl from behind me as well. I was afraid to look behind me, but I did. Right there, with its claw on my creation, was a huge Nightmare. _"Except for you." _I said. Then the chase for my life began… again.

I screamed at the top of lungs while running back to the village. So loud, Stoick heard me and saw me in trouble again. He sighed and left to help me. _"DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE!" _he ordered.

I kept running and the Nightmare kept firing at me. I hid behind of the torch posts, but the dragon fired a long stream of fire at the pole and set it aflame. I covered my face with my fists. I looked behind the pole to see if it was still after me, but little did I know that its head was right behind me ready to take a bite out of me. Fortunately, a large figure tackled the creature at its side. It was Stoick.

It was alpha Viking versus alpha dragon. The Nightmare roared at him, while Stoick readjust his helmet not looking the least bit afraid. The dragon tried to fire at him, but all it got was bits of sticky fire. It looked at the large Viking as if it knew it was in trouble now.He cracked his knuckles and said _"You're all out." _He punched, kicked, and jabbed the lizard until it flew off defeated.

"_**Oh there something you need to know about me and Stoick"**_ the pole gave out and started to fall revealing me trying to sneak away, but stopped in my tracks when Stoick saw me not looking very happy. The fire bowl on top of the pole landed on the boarded walkways crashing through buildings, and almost running into people. I hissed at all the sounds of pain. I looked at Stoick and said "_Sorry, father_." Yes, I'm Stoick the Vast's, Chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe only daughter and child.

The bowl finally stopped and let the captured dragons free and they took all of the food they could carry. It was all my fault. "_Okay, but I hit a Night Fury."_ Stoick didn't listen and grabbed me by the back of my shirt and dragged me towards our house.

"_It's not like the last few times, father, I really actually got one." _I protested. _"You guys were busy and I had a really clear shot, it fell somewhere around Raven Point, let's get a search party out there before…" _But before I can finish, Stoick turned around. _"Stop!"_ he roared frustrated. I froze immediately and stopped talking. _"Just stop"_ he said a little softer, but still a little annoyed.

"_Every time you step outside, disaster falls can you not see I have bigger problems!" _he scolded _"Winter is almost here and I have an entire village to feed." _

"_**If you ask me the village can do with a little less feeding."**_I thought to myself. _"Are you listening to me young lady?" _he said sternly. He gave another upset sigh. _"Why can you follow the simplest orders?" "I can't stop myself, I see a dragon and I just have to kill it, it's simply the way I am, father." _I protested. My father put one of his hands on his face. _"Oh dear… you're many things Thora, but a dragon slayer is not of them" _he said.

Once again his words, hit me like a sharp stone in a heart. He's the one who inspired me to become a Viking in the first place, and even he doesn't believe I can be one. I hung my head low to look at my boots.

"_Get back to the house" _he said. _"Make sure she gets there!" he ordered to Gobbler. "I have her mess to clean up"_ _**"Don't make me sound like a baby just because you treat me like one!" **_

Gobbler had me march up to my house, which seemed to survived the fire it had earlier. I was ashamed that I couldn't prove myself a Viking, and just my luck, we walked right past the others teenagers. Ruffnut laughed out loud. Her brother mocked _"Quite a performance." _Then my "lovable" cousin did his unusual "Cheer me ups". _"I've never seen anyone mess up that bad, that helped" _he said.

"_She definitely takes after that idiotic mom of hers."_ Snotlout said coldly. I turned around with a sharp look. _"Don't dare talk about my mother that way, or you will regret it dearly!"_ I said. _"Okay that enough."_ Gobbler said pushing me towards my house and pushing down Snotlout.

When we got to the Haddock house, I couldn't hold it in anymore. _"I really did hit one." "Sure you did"_ Gobbler said not really believing me. _"He just never listens" "Well it runs deep in your father's side of the family" _he added_. "I know he's looking out for me, but he doesn't have to be so overprotective. I can just imagine what he was like when he found out I was a girl and not a boy. Like when there's no meat in his sandwich."_

I turned around and did my best Scottish accent and mimicked my father's behavior. "_Excuse me Barmaid, I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring, I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side, this here, this is a talking fishbone of a girl."_ I know for a fact that my father would rather have a son than a daughter.

"_Now don't take it the wrong way."_ said Gobbler. _"It's not so much as you not being able to do it; it's more like losing he's more worried about."_ I was confused; my father was more worried about me losing battles or something. "_Thanks, that make me feel better."_

"_The point is, stop trying to be something or not."_ Gobbler said sympathy. _"I just want one chance to prove myself one of you guys."_ I said as I went into my house.

I heard Gobbler leave. This was the perfect chance to sneak out and find the Night Fury. I could be Viking for sure if I kill it. I took off my skirt, which doubled as a cloak. Underneath was a pair of brown pants, I found this easier to move around in than a skirt. I made them in secret. There were a lot of things that even my father doesn't know.

I gather a water sack, some food, my field journal where I keep various drawings and information, and a small knife I made at the shop. Working at the black smith's has its good points. I put on the cloak/skirt and went out the back door. After making sure no one was watching, I ran towards the forest to find my shortcut to my destiny.


	2. Chapter 2 Stoick's Concerns as a Father

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 2-Stoick's Concerns as a Father**_

___"Either we finish them, or they'll finish us! It's the only way we'll be rid of them!"_ Stoick said in the great hall. It was sort of like a mix between a tavern, a gallery of paintings and tapestries of great Viking heroes, and a council hall. The walls were covered with those tapestries, there were tables and torches all around, in the center was a circle with a great bright fire in the middle, and hanging on the ceiling was a golden dragon figurine with a sword piercing its heart. All the men in the village were gathered to solve the dragon problem we have been having since our ancestors settled here three hundred years ago.

_"If we find the dragons' nest and destroy it the dragons will leave, they'll find another home!"_ he said over the hall. He grabbed a small dagger and pierces the map of the region in the spot where the nest was thought to be. _"One more search before the ice sets in!"_

The others weren't so sure about this idea. A Viking spoke up _"But those ships never come back, Chief!" "We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard!"_ he explained proudly. _**"Now who's with me?"**_ he asked looking for volunteers.

There was a long silence. One Viking said _"Today's no good for me."_ Another said _"Count me out!"_ All the men either looked up at the ceiling or at the floor making excuses why they couldn't go on the voyage. _"Alright then…"_ Stoick said calmly in a **"Have it your way"** tone. _"Those who stay will look after Thora."_ The moment they heard that name, everyone raised their hands in the air as high as they could. One of them said _"To the ships!" "I'm with you Stoick!"_ said Uncle Spitelout, who is my father's younger brother, second-in-command, and Snotlout's father. _"That's more like it."_ Stoick said proudly. Having Thora for a daughter did have its upsides.

Gobber was drinking some rum from the mug attachment on his left arm. After wiping some of the drops from his face. _"I'll go pack my undies."_ He said as he stood up to leave the hall. Before he could take a step away from the table he was sitting at, Stoick walked over to him. _"No I need you to stay and train some new recruits"_

_"Oh perfect!"_ Gobber said in a not pleased tone as Stoick sat next to his friend. _"And while I'm busy, Thora can cover the store, molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time for herself, what can possibly go wrong?"_ he asked.

Stoick shook his head and groaned. _"What I am going to do with her Gobber?"_ he asked. _"She's too much like Diana for her own good."_ He sigh thinking about his late wife.

_"Put her in training with the others."_ Gobber said casually. Stoick looked at him like he had lost his mind. _"No I'm serious." _Stoick said_ "So am I."_ he answered back being reassuring. _" First of all, you know the traditions, women can't be Vikings."_ Stoick said. _"Second of all, she'll be killed before you let the first dragon out of its cage."_ sounding worried.

_"Oh you don't know that"_ Gobber said. _"I do know that actually"_ he argued. _"Actually, you don't"_ Gobber said. _"No actually, I do."_ Stoick said. _"No you don't!"_ said Gobber finishing that little argument.

_"Listen"_ said Stoick getting up feeling lost, _"You know how she is." "By the time she can crawl, she ahs been … different." "Of course, her mother was pure bred Englishwoman after all."_ Then he took a sip out of his mug and coughed. His little fake tooth fell into his mug. _"Where did my tooth go?"_ he asked after he noticed it wasn't in his mouth. He heard a bonk against the side of the mug and looked inside to see it floating in the ale. _"Oh, there it is."_ He exclaimed.

_"I know in blood she is."_ Stoick said. _"But as far as personality, she doesn't listen, she has the attention span of a sparrow, her mother takes her for a stroll in the forests and she pretends she's a Viking and goes hunting for trolls for Thor's sake."_ _"Actually trolls exist,"_ Gobber pointed out _"They steal your socks, but only the left ones"_ he scoffed, _"What with that?"_

_"When I was a boy"_ began Stoick. _**"Oh here we go again!"**_ Gobber mumbled. _"My father told me to bang my head against a boulder and I did it. I thought he was crazy, but I didn't question him. And you know what happened?" "You got a headache?"_ Gobber asked amusedly. During that little trip down memory lane, he took a sip out of his mug and his fake tooth in his mouth. And he put it back into place and used his mug to hammer it to make sure it stayed in there. _"That rock split in two."_ Stoick corrected. _"It taught me what a Viking could do Gobber; he could crush mountains, level forests, and tame seas."_ He sat down next to his friend. _"Even as a boy, I knew what I was and what I have become…"_ he hanged his low. _"Thora isn't the kind of person that can do those things."_

_"I know it's more than that, Stoick."_ Gobber said. _"It's really about the welfare of your only child."_ Stoick looked at his friend. _"Well yes, I mean losing my wife was unbearable, and to lose my little girl… that would be even worst" _he said. _"I know what the others said about her being an abnormal girl of thirteen, but she's still my daughter." "Her mother was something else, she was as beautiful as Frigg, kind as Eir, and as clever as Vor"_ He smiled up to the ceiling. "_Her passing was ill-timed and Thora was so young. Yet she still thinks she can be a Viking even though she might be killed." _He shook his head. _"I can't put her into training like that, especially since she can be cast out for being in training, I just can't do it." _

_ "You can't stop her Stoick_…" Gobber said._ "If there's one thing she inherited from you, it's her stubbornness." "You're not always going to be around to protect her. She's probably out there trying to prove herself now."_ Stoick was deep in thought about what to do. Then turned to his friend and asked. _"What do you have in mind?"_ Gobber leaned closer to Stoick's ear, made sure no one was around to listen, then said _"If it's one chance to prove herself she's wants, it's one chance she'll get. Now here's the plan."_ And with that, he whispered his idea to his friend.


	3. Chapter 3 To Kill or Not to Kill

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 3-To Kill or Not to Kill**_

_** "Boy, my feet are killing me!" **_I have been searching high and low for that dragon. It's noon now and I still haven't found it. I know it had to be around the forests of Raven Point somewhere. I've tied a bright reddish orange cloth around the center of rope of the bolas to make it easier to see in the dark.

I have decided to take a short break and eat the food I have packed, since I haven't eaten anything all day. I've found a log to sit on and opened my sack of food. I bought out an apple, a loaf of bread, the water sack, and some vegetables, and then I looked up at the sky. I took a few sips of water and noticed a hawk soaring though the air. I sighed, that hawk was so lucky.

The thing is I have another secret dream… to fly, even though it is even more impossible than a female Viking in the ranks of my tribe. I have always thought it would be so amazing to fly. To have no one tell me what to and not do, how to act, and who to be. The sky seems so limitless, vast, and free up there. _**"I wish we could do that…"**_ then I remembered that Mama wasn't here anymore to share the dream. I took a look at my locket and opened it. It played a soft, gentle, and uplifting melody that always seems to cheer me up when I'm depressed. It was the lullaby she always used to sing me to sleep each night. She made the locket herself for my fifth birthday. The villagers thought I should be ashamed that I have her for my mother just because she was different.

My Mama, Diana, where I got my middle name from, wasn't from Berk. She was born in a small village in England. I have been told that when she was ten years old, the village was raided by Roman soldiers and it was burned to the ground. The people who survived (Not including her parents) were captured, brought to a Roman Fortress, and were forced to be slaves. Luckily, my maternal grandfather was an inventor, so Mama inherited her cleverness from him, which I have inherited from her. She was able to build a sturdy raft in secret and escaped the fortress when she was sixteen.

However, she got caught in a storm and washed up on the shores of Berk. My fraternal grandmother, who is the elder and the healer of the village, found her and nursed her back to health, then introduced her to my father. They got married and a few years later, I was born, making me half Hooligan and half English.

My life was hard for me to deal being half and half, but at least Mama was there to believe in me and our dreams. When she was living in England, she dreamed of flying far and wide. So, my dream of flying was originally her dream. She really was a kind and wonderful mother, who was wise for her age. She believed I could be a great Viking since she told me I have the heart of a true warrior. However, when I was six years old, she died of unexplained illness that happened to many villagers, around the time my grandmother sense an eerie presence far off the shores of our island.

Things have really taken a turn for the worst since she passed away. Papa probably took her death harder than I did. I used to addressed my father as "Papa", but for the pass seven years, he been acting more and more like my chief and less and less like my Papa.

After I have finished my late meal, I closed my locket, got up, and took a few final sips of water and took out my field journal and opened to the page with the map of Berk that I made. I have marked the places where I have been already but haven't found the Night Fury. I walked over to another spot in the forest and closed my eyes, hoping that the dragon will be there when I opened them. But it wasn't. I walked again and crossed another spot on my map. Then out of frustration I scribbled out the whole map. I put my pencil in journal and snapped it shut, and then put it back in my sack.

"_Why me?"_ I asked myself feeling hopeless. _"While, some people lose their knife or their mug, but nooooooooooo I have to lose an __**ENTIRE DRAGON!**__"_ I hit a nearby tree branch and it hit me back in the cheek. I was about to tear the branch right off when I noticed that the tree it was attached to was knocked down. I looked down and noticed a deep trench was craved into the ground and went over a small hill. I ran down to the hill and slowed down as I crawled up it. When I got my head up the hill and saw a black mass, I immediately got back down _**"Was that real!"**_ I thought to myself.

I peeked over that hill and saw one of the most incredible things I have ever seen in my whole life. It wasn't as big as a Nightmare, but it wasn't a small as a Gronkle either. Its bat-liked wings were the largest wingspan I have ever seen on a dragon. I took out my knife and ran down the hill and hid behind a rock in case it was still alive. I peered from behind and walked out to get a closer look.

It wasn't at all what I thought it would look like. It didn't have any horns on its nose, it had a short neck and legs, three pairs of ear like appendages, a few small spikes along the spine, tail, and a little on the head, and it had a very sleek look. They say that this breed of dragon is the fastest of all dragons and judging by the looks of it, it could handle some very serious speeds in the sky. More importantly, wrapped around it was my bolas.

"_Oh wow, I did it!"_ I told myself not believing what has really happened. _"Oh I did it, this fixes everything!"_ I said contentedly. Finally, I was on my way to Viking hood, the first female Viking in Berk. _**"Yes! "**_ I shouted. I put my foot on the dragon's side; put my hand on my hip with my knife in the other giving off a heroic pose. _"I, Thora Diana Haddock, have brought down the mighty Night Fury."_ However as soon as I put my foot on the dragon, it groaned and moved it leg a bit to throw me off of it. It really startled me and it made me stumbled backward into the rock I was hiding behind earlier. It was still alive even after that fall that can kill a mere human. If I was ever going to be a Viking, it was now or never.

I held out my knife towards the dragon, pointing the tip near the chest where the heart had to be. It was taking deep breaths as if they would the last ones it would ever have. Which was probably the case.

I took a good first look at the creature's face. I saw its eyes for the first time; they were an emerald green just like mine. They resemble the very thin slits of a cat's eye. I turn towards the chest, I was about to cut out the heart. But I heard a sad and pitiful moan; it was coming from the dragon. I turned again to look at it. It didn't try to make any attempts to free itself, it just kept moaning with a frightened expression.

I took a deep breath and turned towards the chest again. _"I'm going to kill you, Dragon." _Somehow, I wasn't so sure about this now. I turned my knife upside down, preparing myself for the strike. _"I'm going to cut out your heart and take it to my father."_ I took another deep breath and said, _"I'm A Viking."_ Then I felt like I had to let out all of my frustrations of my whole life. _**"I'm a Viking!"**_ I shouted at the dragon taking my anger out on it. The dragon just let out another moan.

I kept taking deep breaths to calm me down, then I closed my eyes and raised my knife above my head about to strike the final blow, but another moan stopped me and make me opened my eyes. I was then staring into the emerald cat eyes again.

Those eyes were definitely filled with fear, but they were also filled with plead and a sort of loneliness. I shook my head, closed my eyes, and readied my knife again, _**"No, I have to do this to prove myself a true Viking."**_ I thought to myself. I heard another moan sounding like defeat and a thud on the ground; it must have let its head fall to the ground and was waiting its death.

I tried to push my knife to the chest, but something in the back of my head kept saying _**"No, you can't do this! This is beyond cowardly! You can't kill it while It's defenseless!"**_ but I wanted to be a Viking so bad. Then I remembered Mama once saying that _**"A warrior who has no honor and compassion is not a warrior at all."**_ Not wanting to disappoint my mother and feel like a coward, I did something nobody would ever do… I let the knife fall to the top of my head; let my hands fall to my side. No matter how badly I wanted to be a Viking, I couldn't bring myself to kill the poor, helpless creature. It wouldn't be worth it. I've decided to let it live.

I never felt so guilty in my entire life. This majestic animal was suffering, and I made the weapon that did it_. "I did this."_ I started to walk back towards the village, but I stopped. I looked back at it, I couldn't leave it there, if it was trapped in the bolas, it could starve to death. The next thing I was about to do went even more against my people's ways than not killing it. I looked around to see if everyone was watching, knelt near it, and used my knife to cut the bolas and set it free.

The dragon opened its eyes in confusion. I looked back behind to see if anyone was watching again and continued to cut the ropes. If anyone saw me doing this, I'll be in bigger trouble than I have ever been. I could be exiled, or even killed. The dragon looked at me like I was beyond insane. The ropes around the dragon loosened giving it enough to move its legs a little, but it wasn't out (If you pardon the expression) of woods yet. There was still one rope left to cut. As soon it was cut… the Night Fury flipped around and slammed its massive clawed paw on top of my chest and pinned me against the rock. The shock of the situation made me let go of my knife, I was absolutely defenseless. I gasped as I looked at the ferocious predator that had me at its mercy.

Those emerald eyes were not full of fear, sadness, plead, and loneliness this time, they were full of rage. As it tapped one of its black claws lightly on my neck, I was near tears of fear. _**"WHY ON EARTH DID I LET THIS MONSTER GO?"**_ I scolded to myself. I tried to get out of the terrible creature's hold, but it had me pinned good to the ground. It growled at me angrily, breathing deeply, it was either going to tear me apart or burn me to the ground. It looks like I'll be seeing Mama very soon. It raised its head and spread its wings to its fullest, which made it even bloodcurdling frightening. It was about to killed me, just like I was going to it earlier. I pushed myself further into the ground hoping it could save me some pain. I was about to feel the hot inferno or the sharp fangs or claws… but that didn't happened, for all felt was the paw remove off of my body, hot breath, and ringing in my ears.

_**!**_ The dragon had slammed its paw on the ground near me, and let out that ear splitting roar and flew off.

I looked up confused, it let me go. It crashed into a cliff and continued to fly. _"Why? Why did it do that?"_ I let my heart returned to its normal pace. I gave out a huge sigh of relief and grabbed my knife. I got back up and saw the Night Fury flying very awkwardly away. _"Why was it flying like that?"_ I've decided to turn around and return to the village before anything else happened. Before I made my third step, I dropped my knife, my legs gave way, and I landed on the ground flat on my face, I closed my eyes, and everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4 The Prophecy

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 4-The Prophecy**_

Up in Asgard, the gods had witnessed what Thora had done for the dragon and what the dragon had done for her. The gods were dressed in gold and silver armor with colorful, bright, and elegant capes. The goddesses were wearing the finest linen dresses and had the most beautiful jewelry that couldn't be found anywhere on Earth. Odin, the king of the gods, was wearing a helmet that almost looked like a king's crown. It was gold with large, long silver horns that resemble great big dragon teeth. Odin had a long white beard that hanged around his torso, and crystal blue eyes. He and the other gods were standing around a large room filled with thrones, and in the center of the room was a large mirror decorated with gold, engravings, and jewels. In the mirror's reflection was the unconscious Thora. _"Did you see that, Father?"_ said Thor. _"Yes I did."_ said Odin.

_"Dear"_ said Sif as she asked Thor. Sif had long flowing golden hair with lavender eyes. She had an amulet engraved with lightning, which was her husband's symbol. _"Didn't that young las say her name is Thora Diana Haddock? I do believe she was named after you in some way." "Well yes,"_ said Thor full of pride. _"If you have ask me, people should be named after me a lot more."_ Thor had blue eyes and a long blond beard but it wasn't as long as his father's, he was holding a large hammer in his right hand and had a sword with a golden handle covered with rubies, sapphires, and emeralds on his leather belt. The other gods sighed annoyed by that comment and rolled their eyes. "_A lot of people have names that are similar to ours; they believe those people will be blessed by us."_ Said Vor she had blackish-brown hair tied into a long braid hanging over her left shoulder and brown eyes. _"Yeah, you're not the only big shot god up here you know."_ said Freya, who had fiery red hair, which was braided into pigtails and green eyes

_"Frigg, you're the goddess of motherhood."_ Said Odin. _"Do you know whose daughter that is? She may be the heir to a tribe of the Earth Warriors that we have been waiting for."_ _"I agree."_ Said Eir, who had chestnut hair and hazel eyes, "_That dragon is the heir to the Fire Sky Warriors; she may be the one to fight with the Night Fury and defeat Hel, Loki, Vali, and Weth's pet demon, the Red Death."_

Frigg had long had raven hair that was put into an up hair do with strands hanging around her face, took a large white crystal from around her neck and peered into it. _"Why, I do believe she is the only daughter of Stoick the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe on Berk." "Ah"_ exclaimed Sif _"So she is an heir, or in this case, heiress to a tribe of Earth Warriors."_

"_It is just Hlin and I have predicted"_ said Forseti, who had short ebony hair and one blue eye and a green eye. He was the brains and voice of reason of the gods. _"An heir to the Fire Sky Warriors and an heir to a tribe of Earth Warriors will form a strong, unbreakable forbidden friendship despite the possible consequences that can happen to the two of them, defeat the Red Death, and unite their two warring worlds after three hundred years of hatred and suffering."_

"_It had better come true,"_ said Odin sounding angered and annoyed. _"The dragons I have created at the beginning of time will become extinct if nothing is done. They are lucky they don't know the truth about the dragons, otherwise I would have put a horrible curse on the Hooligan tribe."_ _"But,"_ said Eir concerned_, "Aren't women not allowed to be Vikings in Berk? Won't this be a bit of a problem?" "No one said that the prophesized heir to the Earth Warriors had to be a boy."_ protested Vor. _"I agree," _said Hlin, who had strawberry blond hair in a low ponytail and gray eyes. _"I can sense a strong will, tremendous courage, some early wisdom, and a pure compassion in her spirit. She truly has the true qualities of true and fair warrior and more."_

"_Anyway, we need to watch over the girl and the Night Fury, just in case they are the ones we have been waiting for three hundred years."_ said Odin _"In the meantime, we better prepare the Aurora Stone for the armlet if they are truly the ones to save their tribes and possibly the world." _

Odin raised a hand up and from within the mirror, came a beautiful white clear crystal that can fit in the palm of Thora's hand with reddish, yellow, green, blue ,and violet steaks moving around in it. It was the Aurora Stone, a legendary stone that was to be given to the Earth Warrior heir with a pure heart. The stone will give that person's weapon the power to transform into any weapon that person may need as long it was used for an unselfish purpose.

"_Thor"_ said Odin to his son, _"If this Thora and the Night Fury are the ones, and since you're her name's sake, I would like for you to design the armlet for the stone." "Don't worry Father! I'll forge the grandest armlet the Aurora Stone could ever have, and fits its bearer well."_ Thor said confidently.

"_Now,"_ said Odin as he sat back into his throne, _"All we have to do now is wait and hope for the best." "Don't worry,"_ said Forseti reassuring, _"Both Hlin and I are confident that this one girl and one dragon will save and change the world."_


	5. Chapter 5 The Deal for That One Chance

_**How to Train your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 5-The Deal for that One Chance**_

Caw! Caw! Caw! I woke up dizzy to the sound of the crows. _"What happened?"_ I asked myself. I looked around. My vision was really blurry, but it cleared as I looked around. There was dirt on my face. I got up and brushed the dirt off my face, cloak, shirt, hair, and pants.

The last thing I remembered was the Night Fury. At first, I thought the whole thing with the Night Fury was just a dream, when I turned around and looked down; there were the cut bolas ropes. Right then and there I knew what happened was real. _**"WHY? WHY DID IT SPARE MY LIFE? WHY DID I SPARE ITS LIFE WHEN IT COULD HAVE KILLED ME?"**_ I just stood there asking myself a million questions about what happened, and then I realized the sky was a purplish-red.

_"Wait, what time is it?_" I looked around and saw the sun on the west horizon, meaning it was nearly nightfall_**. **__"Oh No! I have to get home before Papa comes to find me and kill me."___I shouted to myself.

I grabbed my knife and ran like the wind to the village. I weave through the trees and jumped over rocks and bushes like there was a wildfire, trying to get to the village, before anyone, whom I doubt, got worried and come looking for me.

When I got to the outskirts of the village, I hid behind a tree, took off my cloak, put it back on as a skirt, and fastened the buttons on it so it wouldn't show my pants. I stepped from behind the tree and into the village, it was dark, so I tiptoed around the more narrow parts of town, ducking behind any barrels, rocks, crates, and anything (which was pretty much everything in the village) big enough to hide me when someone past by. It looks like no one bother to look for me.

_"I don't see why everybody in the village thinks so badly of the chief's daughter. She looks like a very nice and decent girl."_ I heard a familiar male voice talking about me, I looked around and saw Asgerd talking to Fishlegs and Tuffnut. I can't believe that Asgerd Hofferson is actually not jumping to conclusions about me like anyone else. He was like an angel warrior with his long blonde ponytail in the back and sapphire eyes. I was told that his father was a good friend of Papa, but he drowned in a storm around the same time I lost Mama. He was, Njord the Ax, the best ax handler in all the islands in this region, even better than Papa.

_"She's an oddball that's why."_ Said Tuffnut. "_Yeah, I mean she is a nice girl," said Fishlegs, "But her idea of her being a Viking in the Hairy Hooligan tribe is a little impossible. I mean there hasn't been a single female Viking in the history of Berk. Not mention she doesn't have the strength to lift a decent weapon, she thinks too much, and she's too much of a dreamer._ _And…" "Okay we get it!"_ said Tuffnut interrupting him covering his mouth with his hand.

_"Yeah, I totally agree"_ said Snotlout joining the conversation. _"__**This should be encouraging."**_ I thought to myself. _"She's a total weirdo!" "Oh come on guys"_ said Ruffnut also joining the party. _"Give the girl a break, it's not her fault she's trying to be a Viking, because she doesn't believe only boys should be the only ones to be Vikings in the tribe."_ For some odd reason, she always seems to stand up for me whenever I give a hint about being a Viking.

_"Who ask you,__** little sister!**__"_ snapped Tuffnut. _"Hey! You're only five minutes older than me, not five years!"_ Then they went at it again with Fishlegs between them, trying to break them up_. "I'm surprised that Uncle Stoick hasn't kept her locked up twenty-four seven for all the trouble she has caused." _Said Snotlout,_ "One of the fishermen said that Aunt Diana spoiled her way too much; it looks like Uncle Stoick is doing a bit of spoiling himself." __**"THE VILLAGE THINKS I'M SPOILED?"**_ I yell-whispered to myself _"Is that how the villagers really see me?"_ And I thought they've talked badly about Mama. I've decided to continue to my house before the dirt about me gets any dirtier.

I maintained my position behind the barrels and in the narrow parts of the village. When I've finally reached my house, I saw that the fire was lit, which meant that Papa was home. Oh boy! As if I wasn't in enough trouble today already. I just have to slip behind him and get to my room before he tries to find me.

I've tiptoed quietly as I could to the doorsteps. I opened the door quietly as possible and made the opening big enough to go into the house sideways. I closed the door as quietly as I opened it. I saw Papa at the hearth stoking the fire looking deep in thought, which was unusual for an ideal Viking. It looks like he hasn't noticed me yet. I did the same thing as I did outside; I hid behind the furniture that were along the way to the stairs. Every time I hid, I checked if He had noticed me yet. When I got to the stairs, I climbed up them on my hands and knees. I thought I was home free, but unfortunately I wasn't quiet enough. Whether he just noticed I was home, or he was ignoring me as I got home, he lifted his head up and said _"Thora…"_

I stopped the moment he said my name, and banged my head against the edge of the next step. _"Ouch! Ah … Father."_ I chuckled nervously. I took a step back and stood up. I decided to just apologize in advance before he started scolding me_. "Look I'm sorry about what happened today."_, but at the same time, Papa said something to me, while rubbing his hands together, but I didn't hear. I think he said something like, _"I need to talk to you about Viking training." "What?"_ we both said.

He looked down, then back up to me and said _"Huh ladies first." "Oh no, chieftains first."_ I offered, might as well get it over with. _"Alright,"_ he said rubbing his hands together again. _"You get your wish, Viking training, you'll start in the morning."_ He said. _"I know I shouldn't have…" _I stopped once I realized he said the words _**"Viking training"**_, but I wasn't sure he had said exactly. _"I'm sorry; did you say __**"VIKING TRAINING"?**__" "Yes I did,"_ said Papa, _"You're going to be training with the other boys of the tribe."_

I couldn't believe it, somehow he given up and is letting me train to be a Viking. A big smile spread across my face. _"Oh thank you, thank you Father! You will not regret this, I'll be the greatest female Viking Berk has ever seen!" "Hold your horses there, Thora."_ Papa said interrupting me. _"I haven't pulled any official stings to enroll you as a girl, these traditions have been around since your great-great-great-great grandfather's time, and they are not about to be broken now."_ I was confused about what he was talking about. _"If you want to be a Viking, have to be in disguise." _He handed me one of his axes, which was a bit on the heavy side.

_"Wait! By disguise, do you mean pretending to be a boy? As in pretending to be someone I'm not?" "Of course. How else do you think you can get into training without anyone knowing who you are?"_ he said as he turned around to a basket. He was probably heading for another search for the dragon's nest. It seems whenever he gets sick of the dragon raids, which was about every month, he and a bunch of other Vikings take off to find the nest. I didn't like the idea of disguising as a boy one bit. I tried to act like the others a while before Mama died. At her deathbed, she had me promised that no matter what; I would be true to myself.

"_I don't know Father, I was hoping that I could go to as myself. "After all, I promised Mama..."_ Papa turned with an annoyed look on his face, hoping I didn't just said the "M" word. I quickly recollected myself_. "I mean I just don't believe I should be pretending to be someone I'm not." "Listen Thora, you only have one chance at this"_ he said walking towards me. _"What do you mean?"_ I asked him confused.

_"Look,"_ Papa started, _"You said you wanted one chance to prove yourself, so you're getting this "one" chance." "So…" I _said starting to get the idea_, "by one chance, you mean I'm not going to get any second chances if I failed." "Exactly!"_ he answered, _"If you succeed, you can join the ranks of us, in disguise as well, but if you fail, no more talk about being a Viking." "You mean give up my dream?"_ I asked that almost came up as a yell. "_Yes, so if you want to be a Viking, you're going to have to be like us."_ he took the ax out of my hand and began lectured me. _"When you carry this ax, you carry of us with you."_ He put the ax back in my hands, which made me bent over due to the weight. _"Which means you walk like us,"_ he grabbed me by the shoulders to straighten me out. _"You talk like us,"_ then he pointed to his head, _"You think like us."_ "The _others __**THINK**__ around here, seriously?" _I thought to myself. _"No more of …"_ he said, but he stopped to try to find the right word for me. _"This."_ Not this again! _"You just gestured to all of me."_

_"Deal?"_ he asked _"This conversation is feeling really one sided"_ I said. _**"DEAL?"**_ he asked again a little louder and sterner. I sighed in defeat, lowered my head, and shrugged my shoulders, this was better than not being able to train at all. _"Deal."_ I said. Papa lifted the basket over his shoulder and looked content. _"Good" _he said, _"Train hard."_ Trying to encourage me as he started to walk out the door, grabbed his helmet, and turned his head to say _"I'll be back… Probably." "And I'll be here… maybe."_ I said still not happy with the whole acting as a boy thing. With that he left out the door, I went to the kitchen window to see the three ships off. I prayed to the gods that Papa and the others will return safely. He may make me frustrated sometimes, but he's still my father.

Once the ships were out of sight, I took a deep breath. My first day of classes are tomorrow, so I have to get ready. I need to figure out how to convince the others that I am boy and still go around as a girl in the village, if people didn't see me at the blacksmith's shop, they'll think that something's up. I could hide my long hair somehow, because I am NOT going to cut it. Plus, if people saw me at the shop and saw my short hair, they might figure out the con immediately. I could also put a bit of ash on my ash on my face to make it look like I shave, since men around the islands start growing facial hairs at the age of ten. I also need the weapons; Papa already gave me one of his axes, so I just need a hammer (One I can carry), a bow, some arrows, a shield, and a sword. I may not have the necessary upper body strength, but I'm flexible, a quick thinker, an excellent archer, and a great swordsman or in this case swordswoman.

Ever since I started dreaming of being a Viking, but then found out that women in the village aren't allowed to be Vikings, I have practiced in secret. I have watch how the other Vikings did certain techniques and tried them out as best I could. I even simplified them. When I really got into inventing, I've set up my own obstacle course and training ground in the woods. I've even explored parts of the island, which helped me get a sense of direction and sharp instincts. I took me awhile, but managed to have excellent aim, agility, and hand-eye coordination.

I search around the trunk in the room, which has the weapons Papa had used. I tested each weapon to make sure I can handle it. I have found a hammer that was thick enough, yet light enough for me to lift it. I have also found a red shield with white patterns to use for defense. As for the archery and swords, I have made my own bow and sword.

Once I gathered, everything in a sack, turned in for the night, I had a really exhausting day. I climbed up the stairs to my room. I got out of my clothes, kicked my boots off, put on my tan nightgown, and took the braids out of my flowing hair, which came down to the middle of my back.

When I climbed into bed, I noticed something bright outside my window in the corner of my eye. I crawled on my bed to the only window in my room that was next to my bed. Up in the sky I saw the aurora borealis in all the shades of green blue and purple. It was beautiful, but I've been told that unless all the colors are there, the lands were not healthy, that what Grandma told me.

She had said that when the island was first settled on by our people, the lands were healthy, peaceful, and beautiful. The way seasons were suppose to be, were normal. The buds starting blooming in the spring, there was warm weather and flowers in the meadows in the summer, the leaves fall in the autumn, and the snow does its own course in the winter. However, about one hundred years after the settlement, things went out of balance. The snow kept falling until the middle of spring, there were no more flowers in the summer, the leaves on the trees didn't start falling until the snow start falling, and blizzards practically hit us everyday trapping us in our homes in the winter. It's almost as if our people have done something to upset that balance, but to this day we haven't figure out what it was, but if we could, life on this island would be easier. It would be wonderful to see the aurora borealis with all of its colors.

I yawn; I should really get to sleep since I have classes tomorrow. I've laid down on my bed, pulled the covers over me, took off my locket, wind it up as much as it could, opened it, and set it on the small table near my bed. I put my head on my pillow, pulled the blankets over my shoulder, and closed my eyes. I used my locket's music to put me to sleep at night and pretend it is Mama singing. For some reason, I felt that today was going to change everyone's lives forever, especially mine. "Tomorrow's going to be the first day of my new life, I can feel it." I thought to myself as the melody of the locket send me into my world of dreams.


	6. Chapter 6 The First Day of Classes

_**How to Train your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 6-The First Day of Classes**_

_"Help us! Help us please!"_ I was in a place filled with red mist, so I couldn't tell where I was. For some reason, it felt freezing cold and very sinister. There were voices. They sounded scared and desperate. There was a bright golden light in my right hand; it was in the shape of a sword. On my right wrist was some kind of golden wristband with a multi-colored stone that I have never seen before. I was also wearing armor that looked like it was made of black scales. A large dark shadow loomed over me. I looked up to meet six of the most evil blood chilling eyes I have ever seen. Then there were bloodcurdling screams and loud chomping sounds, after that I didn't hear any of the voices calling for help. I looked up to the eyes again. Below the eyes, were the biggest razor sharp fangs I have ever seen in my whole life. To my horror, there were dead limp bodies in between the teeth, which I couldn't make out. Then the eyes and mouth came out a whole head, a large dragon head. It was probably the largest living creature I have ever seen judging by the head. All of its eyes looked at me. I couldn't move, the mere sight of this monster had me frozen in terror. The beast had lunge its head straight towards me. Unable to move my body at all, I let out a long terrified scream and…

BBBRROOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL! I sat up straight in my bed with a startle yell as the morning horn started the day. I sighed in relief, it was just a dream, but it felt so real, almost as if someone was telling me someone needed my help. I decided to just forget about it and got out of bed as quickly as possible. I got out of my nightgown, put on a long green tunic, and then I put on my pants, and boots. I put my skirt/cloak in my sack, since I won't be needing it for the classes. I also put a brown fur vest over my tunic and put my locket in my vest pocket. I still didn't know how I was going to hide my long hair. Maybe Gobber had an idea what to do about it.

I put hair in my usual hairstyle and went downstairs to get a quick breakfast. I poured a mug of yak's milk and couple slices of bread. I went out the back door, then I made sure that no one saw me. Once I saw that the coast was clear, I ran towards the woods. I walked for about ten minutes, and then I came to a clearing underneath a cliff. It was a bunch of old stone ruins, I believe they used to be the old Viking training grounds, but it was forgotten when the grounds were moved to the cliffs near the village. I've found it after my eighth birthday. I have been using as my secret training grounds (As I mentioned before) since then to prepare myself in case Papa changed his mind about letting me train.

I had constructed some automated obstacles, a dummy, and targets around the area. I pulled on a lever, which started the gears for the automated obstacle course to start. Along that single loop of obstacles, there were moving rams and logs for dodging. Once I timed it just right, I went into the course doing all the flips, tumbles, and jumps I can do.

Once I was satisfied, I pulled the lever and shut off the obstacle course and went over to the archery targets. I took my bow and quiver of arrows and took aim at my target and shot the ten arrows I had right into the bull's eye. Then I moved to the dummy, which were chipped from all the practice I have done on it with my sword. Once I pulled the lever to start the dummy, it swung its weapons at me; I grabbed my sword and started blocking and slashing at it. When I had finished practicing, I pulled the lever backward to shut the dummy off, and headed back to the house before Gobber came to get me for training. I dashed towards the house, made sure no one was looking, and went inside.

I walked over to the hearth, lean down, took a bit of ash, and rubbed it on the lower part of my face to make it look like I was growing facial hair. Then I hear a knock on the door, it must be Gobber. I opened the door wide enough to let him in. _"Morning, Thora!"_ He said cheerfully. _"Ready for Training?"_ he asked. Then he paused when he saw my face. _"Did you fall in the hearth or something?"_ he asked confused. _"It's just ash. Something to make me look more masculine."_ I stated.

_"Anyway, I'm almost ready, there's just one problem."_ I said. _"What's that?"_ Gobber asked. I pointed to my head and said, _"My hair." _I said_ "Oh don't worry"_ he said reassureily. _"One of the men accidently chopped off part of his beard off while practicing with his ax. So, I've gathered all the hairs up and made them into a wig for you to hide your hair. Just get it as low on top and unnoticeable as possible and we'll be all set."_ He pulled out a wig that had hair that was a tad darker than mine. He gave me the wig; I put my hair in the lowest and inconspicuous up do possible, secured it as tight as much as I could, and pull the wig over my head. The strands of hair came down to my chin. I took a quick look in the metal part of my shield to see if I looked like a boy. I was pleased with myself, I certainly didn't look anything like a girl with this look, it could even fool Papa. I turned to Gobber and asked _"How do I look?" "Like a real Viking warrior in the making!"_ he said with a hearty smile.

"_Let's go,"_ he said _"We can't be late for the first day of classes now can we?"_ We went out the door with Gobber leading the way to the **"new"** training grounds. We walked through the village, and then we got to the bridge that leads to the Training Grounds. Then I started to see the other first level students. There's a total of five levels of training to be a full-fledge Viking warrior. It starts at the age of thirteen and ends at eighteen. After the fifth year of Training, there's a coming of age ceremony, and you are considered a full-fledged Viking after that. The second level students even get to go join the older Vikings on exploring missions as their own fleet.

The other students include Snotlout, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Asgerd. Ruffnut was sitting on one of the benches with some other girls. They were probably going to watch the training classes. Although we're not allowed to train, we women are allowed to watch the men train. Asgerd looked different today, he had a red bandana across his forehead with his bangs hanging over it, a blue shirt with armored shoulders, red spiked padding over the sides of his pants, and held his father's ax in his right hand.

I stopped in the middle of the bridge. I've remembered what they've said about me last night. I still couldn't believe that people thought I was spoiled. Gobber turned around seeing that I had stopped. _"What's wrong?"_ he asked. _"Gobber, I can ask you a question?" "Sure."_ He said. _"Now I want you to be completely honest."_ I said. _"Okay Okay, I will." "Am I …spoiled?"_ I asked. Gobber looked at me like I had scales. Then he laughed uncontrollably. He collected himself and said, _**"You, Thora Diana Haddock, spoiled? Oh that's a good one."**_ Hopefully that meant a "yes". _"No, Thora, you are the complete opposite of spoiled."_ He said. _"Really?"_ I asked. _"Absolutely!"_ He chuckled_, "Whatever gave you that idea?" "Well I heard Snotlout and the others say that Mama spoiled me when she was still here and that my father's doing it as well."_ I said.

"_Your father definitely doesn't do that"_ Gobber said with a serious face. _"The last thing he wants to do, is appear to be playing favorites, it's just his job as chief to be tough on everyone."_ _"You got that right."_ I said shaking my head, rolling my eyes, while looking down. _"Besides, you're a hard worker, you're kind and considerate of others, and a spoiled person wouldn't be anything like that. So trust me, you are not spoiled at all. You're the last person who would be spoiled."_ said Gobber.

"_Now, don't pay attention to what the others think, and get to class. It wasn't easy convincing your father to go with this plan."_ I looked up at Gobber when I heard him said that. _"Wait, you convinced my father to let me train?"_ I asked. _"Sure did. You said you wanted one chance, so I gave you one."_ A big smile spread across my face. _"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, Gobber!"_ I said with my hands together. _"You won't regret this; I'll do my very best." "That's the spirit!"_ Gobber said patting his hand on my back. _"Now, let's get going. Can't keep the others waiting."_ And with that we walked to the others.

When we got to the others, they looked at me curiously. _"Who let that skinny guy in?"_ asked Tuffnut. _**"Well excuse for not having a sturdier figure like you guys."**_ I thought to myself annoyed. _"Well this is Tho-"_ I coughed to alerted that he shouldn't call me by my real name while I'm in disguise. _"This is uh…"_ he said trying to come up with a new name, which is a boy's name.

What would be a good name? I need to think of one fast. The others were starting to get very suspicious. I also need to tell them where I'm from, since they believe that I'm someone they have never met before on the island. Then I thought of my fraternal grandfather's middle name, a common last name, and a small farming island north of here. _"I'm Leif Anderson."_ I said trying to sound masculine as possible. _"Never seen you before. You're from around here are you?" _asked Snotlout. It looks like its working. "_No. I'm from a farming island in the north isles."_ I answered.

"_What are you doing on Berk?"_ asked Fishlegs. _"I came here to learn to be a Viking warrior like my father. They say Berk is the best place for Viking training. So here I am."_ I said. _"That's right,"_ said Gobber "_The chief gave her… I mean him permission to train here, so don't push him around too much. You understand." "Yes sir!"_ everyone else said. _"Good!"_ he said. _"Now, Tho…I mean Leif, join the others and let's get started." "Yes, sir!" _I said and went to join the others._ "Can I just transfer to the class with the cool Vikings." _Snotlout asked himself. _"I heard that Snotlout." _Gobber said making Snotlout jump a bit.

I got into the line and stood at attention. "_Welcome to Viking Training everyone!"_ Gobber said. _"You have been assembled here to train hard to be full-fledged Vikings and learn how to protect your islands and villages."_ He said while pacing back and forth in front of us. _"You will learn how to handle weapons, how to work on the ships, how to work at the catapults, and most importantly…"_ He paused for effect. _"…how to defeat your enemies." _

"_First, we'll start in the use of the shield. Then we'll start on the basics of Hammer/Ax, Archery, Ship Management, Catapults, and Swordsmanship. These classes will prepare for the last, but the most important class of the day."_ He said. _"Now, do you all have your shields?"_ We all nodded our heads and hold out our shields. _"Good!"_ he said.

"_Now the shield is simple to use, just put your arm through this first strap and grip the second one. It's also the most important piece of equipment. If you must make a choice between a sword and a shield, take the shield."_ He instructed. _"Easy enough"_ I said. We all picked up our shields, which were a little heavy. I've put my left arm through the first leather strap of my shield, and gripped the second one. I tried to balance my shield with the weight of my body, so I wouldn't fall down. _"You'll use those shields for all the combat courses."_ Said Gobber.

We went to an area where there were axes and hammers hanged up on the walls. Gobber stopped in a circle in the middle of the area and turned to face us. _"Now everyone grab your hammers."_ He said. _"It's best to start with the hammers, since the axes are too sharp, and we don't want you to cut yourselves on accident, while you're still inexperience. "Now, Asgerd, come up and face me lad."_ Asgerd came up and stood in front of Gobber with a hammer in hand. We had to get the hammer near striking point, (but just at that), knock down your opponent, get him out of the circle, or get him to lose his hammer.

"_Let's see what you got."_ He said with a confident grin. _"Um, Gobbler? Aren't you going to teach us first?" _Snotlout asked worried. I suddenly had an idea what he was going to said next. _"I believe in..." _he began._**"Learning on the job."**_ I thought to myself as Gobber said the same thing. I knew him all too well working at the shop for six years. They bowed their heads in respect and the Hammer session started. They swung their hammers at each other, and dodge blows. In the end, Asgerd had his hammer in front of Gobber's face in striking range. The girls cheered as he made his victory. They made it look so easy. Gobber lightly chuckled_. "You're definitely your father's son alright. Good work!" _Gobber said.

"_Fishlegs, Tuffnut! You're up!"_ he said. Fishlegs and Tuffnut rushed to the center of area to face each other, they bowed their heads in respect, and went at it. Their fight wasn't as coordinated as Asgerd's and Gobber's. Fishlegs kept almost falling down, with Tuffnut wildly swinging his hammer around. He and his sister have always seemed like they had too many sweets when they are in a fight. Gobber gave them some constructive criticism and advice as they fought. In the end, Tuffnut stumbled out of the circle as Fishlegs dodged him. _"Tuffnut, you're out! Fishlegs wins!"_ said Gobber. _"I can't believe that you let clumsy Fishlegs beat you like that." _Ruffnut said as the other girls laughed. _"Be quiet!"_ snapped Tuffnut. Fishlegs and Tuffnut walked to join the rest of us on the side lines. Next is Snotlout and me.

This shouldn't be too hard. While, Snotlout is strong and has the appearance of a real Viking, he is over-confident, rude, a show-off, a total coward (So he doesn't back up his tough talk.), and easily gets distracted by the girls. When I got to the circle, I turned around to see if he was ready and sure enough, he was flexing his muscles for the girls. Yeah right, like they would fall for that egotistical poser. They were more interested in Asgerd anyway, because he's way cuter. _"You ladies ready to watch me beat this Farm Boy flatter than a stepping stone?"_ I rolled eyes, he was at it again. The other girls didn't pay attention, they were just staring at Asgerd, who was holding his father's ax hoping to use it in tomorrow's Ax/Hammer class. _"Hey, Snotlout!"_ Gobber shouted. Snotlout jumped and turned around to face Gobber. _"Stop paying attention to the ladies and get over here!" _He rushed over to the circle immediately. _"Let's see if you can walk the walk like you can talk the talk."_ I said wittily. _"Yes,"_ he said with a sneer _**"LET'S"**_

He got into the circle with his hammer. We stood facing each other ready for the match. Gobber raised his hand to start the match. We bowed our heads in respect, and Snotlout gave me a wicked smile, ready to beat me into next Thor's Day. _"Ready?"_ Gobber said. We nodded and then he threw his hand down, _"Fight!"_ I've let my cousin go first. Just as his hammer was about to hit me, I did a back flip in the air and landed a few feet away from him. _"Whoa!"_ said Fishlegs in awe. _"Maybe there's more to this Farm Boy than his skinny figure."_ said Asgerd. Snotlout was starting to get irritated. He swung his hammer like an inconvincible berserk getting more and angrier. I kept flipping, jumping, and dodging for a while. Then Snotlout started to lose his balance near the line. Then I made my move. I swung hammer in front of him, which didn't hit him, but made him totally lose his balance and fall out of the ring.

"_Well I'll be."_ said Gobber flabbergasted. _"Leif Wins!" "Wow! Amazing moves and strategy!"_ said an excited Fishlegs. _"You used Snotlout's bodyweight against him, kept dodging to exhaust him, and-" "Used his over-confidence against him?"_ I said interrupting him. _"Well yeah."_ Fishlegs said. _"You almost did it like you know him inside-out"_ stated Tuffnut. Oh no! I got to think of something fast, they might catch on to me any minute. _"Well… there's a boy who's a lot like Snotlout, so I figured I could deal with him the same way I handle the other boy." "Oh I see." _Tuffnut said. _"Alright, let's move on,"_ said Gobber, _"There are so many courses to go through, and so little time."_

We started to walk to the next area, when Snotlout gave me a menacing stare. _"You don't know what you have gotten yourself into, Farm Boy!"_ he said threatening me. Then Tuffnut slapped me on the back. _"Great job, Anderson! But I don't think Snotlout's very happy about you hurting his ego. I watch my back if I were you."_ He said. _"Thanks for the advice, Tuff."_ I said. _"Great job, Thora!"_ Gobber whispered to me_. "Maybe a bit of your father's warrior instincts run in your veins after all."_ I smiled_, "Thanks Gobber!"_ I said.

Next, we went over to a bunch of targets along the side of a cliff. It was the Archery area. We got out our bows and our quiver of arrows. Gobber put a bow attachment to his arm and got out an arrow. _"Now,"_ he started. _"You don't just take the arrow and let it go; you have aim carefully let quickly."_ He raised his bow and arrow, aim it at a target for about a minute, and let it go. _"Like that"_ Gobber said. _"Now, line up with a target and get started. The two top archers today will face against each other."_

This won't be hard at all. I took my bow and arrow and carefully aimed. Then I heard a frustrated yell, I looked over, it was Snotlout. He shot his arrow too fast and it missed by at least three feet. Fishlegs was so nervous, that he kept dropping the arrow or punching himself in the eye as he let go of it, which landed right in front of him. Tuffnut's arrows hit the sides of the target. "Come on!" yelled Gobber, "You can do better than that!" Asgerd was the real competition, his arrows landed right near the bull's eye or right on it. He seemed please with himself. "Come on, Leif! Shoot already!" said Gobber impatiently. And with that, I straightened myself up, aimed my shot, and took my shot and it landed on the bull's eye. Gobber's jaw dropped as the arrows he was carrying slipped from his hand.

After a while, it came down to Asgerd and me. We had to use one of our arrows to hit a target. Asgerd took aim at the target first, shot his arrow, and it hit the bull's eye. This was going to be a tough one to beat, but I have a move that can make my arrow stick to the bull's eye like glue. I pulled back on the string of the bow, twisted it around the end of the arrow as far as I could turn it. I took about thirty seconds to aim my arrow, and then I let it go. It flew towards the target, spinning like a twister until it split Asgerd's in equal three parts. Everyone's mouths, bows and arrows dropped.

"_What kind of shot was that?" _asked Fishlegs astonished. _"That's my cyclone arrow."_ I said _"When you need an arrow to really stick, that's the shot for the job."_ _"What do you mean by really stick?"_ asked Snotlout confused. _"I mean if the target has a thick hide, then the force from the spin will make the arrow go in further."_ I explained. "_Yikes! You almost sound like my cousin, Thora."_ said Snotlout. _"I'll take that as a commitment."_ I said ignoring the fact that he was trying to get under my skin. _"Come to think of it you almost look like her"_ he said. _"Pure coincidence I'm sure_." I said turning my head away, trying to keep them off the trail of my true identity. "_Well Asgerd, looks like you got some stiff competition." _said Tuffnut. Asgerd looked at him with an annoyed look. Then Tuffnut backed off.

Once the arrows were removed and put away, Gobber stood in front of me and Asgerd. _"Nice job, Leif, Asgerd! You just need to work on how long you take to shoot the arrow, Leif and you'll be good to go."_ he said instructively. Then we started to move onto the next area. Gobber just stood nodding his head at me looking impressed. _"Looks like Stoick is losing this deal so far."_ he said. Then he left with the rest of us.

We left the training area and headed towards the harbor. We boarded a ship that was used for overseas expeditions. _"Now, if you're going to be Vikings warriors, you'll need to know how to handle a ship and know the ways of the sea." _Gobber said. _"You need to know how to work on a ship, how to navigate on the waters, how to steer, and what to do in a storm or an attack. We'll take a tour of this lovely ship, so you'll know where everything is and what to do."_ Tuffnut and Snotlout groaned. "Hey, quiet." said Gobber.

Gobber showed us the lower decks of the ship, where the Vikings slept. Then up to the higher decks to the place where they rowed, where they change the sails, and the steering handle. Tuffnut was just playing with his dagger with a bored face, not paying attention at all. Snotlout was even more bored than Tuffnut, he looked like he was about to fall asleep on his feet any minute. Fishlegs was very eager learning about this information; he had eyes on the things Gobber pointed to the whole time. Asgerd was giving Gobber his full attention with the upmost seriousness. I was paying attention to the tour. If I was going to be having adventures on seas, I needed to learn this stuff. There were two reasons I wanted to be a Viking, one was to do my part to protect the village and the second was to have adventures in places I never seen. I have always been the adventurous kind since Mama told me stories of her home country and places she had heard about in stories from her parents.

"_The most important thing about Seamanship, is navigating the seas."_ Said Gobber. _"Can anyone tell me how we can navigate these waters?"_ he asked. _"Just choosing any direction sounds fine by me"_ said Snotlout yawning, not caring about the question. _"Definitely not that, now__** PAY ATTENTION SNOTLOUT!**__"_ shouted Gobber bringing Snotlout to full awareness. _"Anyone else?"_ he asked. _"When we're around a familiar area, we can use landmarks to remember certain directions."_ said Asgerd. _"Thank You, Asgerd."_ said Gobber. _"Got any other ideas?"_ he asked. "_If it's daytime we can use the sun and time of day to tell where is East and West are. And if it's nighttime, we can use the North Star, Polaris to find where north is. If the skies are clear."_ I said. _"Every Good, Leif."_ said Gobber.

After that, we left the ship and headed towards the catapults. _"Quite some intelligence you have there, Anderson." _Asgerd commented. I looked at him almost blushing at the fact that he was talking to me. But then I remembered that I was supposed to be pretending I'm a boy. So, I shook my head. _"You'll make a great navigator._" He said. _"Thank you."_ I said to him. _"Yes!"_ I whispered to myself.

We climbed up one of the catapult towers and stood in a line. _"Now,"_ started Gobber, "_Running a catapult isn't just about pulling the lever, it's about aim and distance. It's like archery; you need to judge the distance carefully yet quickly."_ He walked over to the pegs around the catapult and grabbed one of them. _"Now these are for turning the catapult to the direction you want to throw the objects in."_ then he walked over to a lever near a gear. _"This is for adjusting the distance of the throw. The ropes will get loose every time, so make sure you tighten them after every shot."_ He pointed to another lever. _"This is for releasing the shot."_ He pointed out to a rock out in the bay with a red X on it. _"Now the objective is to aim at that rock right there. Snotlout, you're first." _

This ought to be good. Snotlout didn't bother to judge the distance; he cranked the distance up all the way, and let it go. The rock made a huge splash way beyond the target. _"For Thor's sake, Snotlout!" _Gobber shouted. _"Having it cranked up all the way won't always hit the target. Next!"_ On Fishlegs's turn, he started talking about the best possible way for him to hit the target. He kept rambling on and on, until Gobber got fed up. _"Hurry up and shoot, Fishlegs! The enemy won't stand there all day!"_ he shouted. Fishlegs immediately let the shot go. It landed about ten feet before the target. _"Nice try, Fishlegs! Next!"_ Gobber said. Tuffnut did it a little better; his nicked the left side of the target. _"I guess you can hit the broad side of a barn after all."_ Ruffnut said at the bottom of the catapult tower. _"I said be quiet!"_ said Tuffnut even more annoyed than before. Both Asgerd and I carefully judged the distance to the rock and our shots hit close to the bull's eye. _"Good job you two! Let's go everyone!"_ then we headed back to the Training area.

Next was Swordsmanship, my best skill. This was just like the Hammer/Ax class. We had to get the sword near striking point, knock down our opponent, get him out of the circle, or get him to lose his sword. Snotlout was up against Gobber, they bowed their heads in respect, and thanks to his over-confidence; it was over in about ten seconds when Gobber knocked the sword out of his hand. Tuffnut won his round with Fishlegs due to Fishlegs nervousness about sharp objects. Then Asgerd and I were up. _"Pretty impressive sword you got there."_ Asgerd commented. _"Thanks, made it myself." _I said._ "I see."_ He said. We bowed our heads in respect and got started. We've blocked, dodged, and maneuvered like crazy. In the end, I barely got knocked down before I straightened myself up and got my sword to striking point. "_Good job, Leif!"_ I bowed my head to Asgerd to show my respects and to congratulate him on a great match. He gave me a long irritated stare and then bowed his head back and said _"Looks like I had found myself a worthy rival."_ I wonder if that's a good thing.

We left the area, and Gobber gave me a hearty pat on the back. _"Great job, Thora! You are doing even better than I had originally thought."_ He said. _"Really?"_ I asked. _"Sure. You have only started training today and I can see the makings of a future marksman, swordsman, navigator, military strategist, seaman, and possibly a leader."_ He said. _"Wow! Thanks!"_ I said. "_No Problem!"_ he said back.

Now for the last class of the day. _"By the way, Gobber, what is the last class for the day?"_ I asked. "_I think we covered all the basics requirements already." "All but one"_ Gobber said. _"Which is?"_ I asked. _"Dragon Training."_ he proudly said. _"What's that?"_ I asked confused. _"The art of slaying dragons."_ He answered. _"What! Slaying Dragons? As in __**KILLING THEM?**__" _I _asked in a loud tone. "Of course! To be a full-fledged Viking, you have to learn to kill dragons. They're trickier and tougher than they look."_ Gobber said and continue to walk to an area with a chained roof, and cages inside.

Oh no! What have I gotten myself into this time? I thought these classes are to prepare us for battling our enemies. I didn't know we have to learn to kill them. Then again, Papa wanted to keep me away from being a Viking warrior, so I wouldn't know much about what's in a Viking warrior's daily agenda. I looked at the others; they seem excited to learn how to kill dragons. I couldn't kill that Night Fury yesterday, and then I remembered that I didn't believe in killing people. Not to mention there was that awful dream I had last night. I can't possibly kill dragons now. But I don't want to give up my dream when I've finally got a chance to go for it. What am I going to do?


	7. Chapter 7

_**How to Train your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 7-I didn't think it was a Big Deal**_

I have gotten myself into bad situations before, but this was the worst one yet! As we continued to approach the arena, my hands were getting very sweaty from holding my sword, it was getting harder and harder for me to breathe, and I was pretty sure I was going to pass out any second from the nervousness and it only got worst as we got closer to the arena.

When we got to the gates of the arena, Gobber lifted the first barred gate, and then we walk to the second gate. _"Welcome to Dragon Training!"_ said Gobber as he lifted the second gate. Asgerd took a big breath to calm himself. (If he does get nervous.) _"This is it, no turning back."_ he said. Then we got our first look at the inside of the Dragon Training arena. It was basically a pit. On the upper viewing floor were iron bars and a chained ceiling. There were five doors each sealed by logs in different directions, the dragons are probably kept there. There were also racks of weapons of all kinds. It would have been amazing if I wasn't filled with worry about killing dragons. Call me soft, but just because I want to be a warrior, doesn't mean I like the idea of taking a life.

_"I hope I'll get some serious burns."_ said Tuffnut pumped up with excitement. _**"WHAT? HE WANTS TO GET BURN TO A CRISP?"**_ I thought to myself. _"Or maybe even some mauling like on my shoulder or lower back."_ he added. _**"ARE THESE GUYS LOOKING FOR A CHANCE TO GET SCARS?" **_I__know scars are considered badges of honor, but just wanting them right on the first day of training is just asking for trouble. _"Yeah well, it's only fun when you get a scar out of it."_ Asgerd said. Great! _**Not him too! **_This is really not helping with my nerves at all.

"_Yeah, no kidding, right?"_ I said with a nervous chuckle. _"Pain. Love it." "What's with you Leif?"_ asked Tuffnut, _"You're all uneasy all of a sudden."_ Great another unwanted question. How am I going to cover this one? _"Um… I just haven't seen many dragons."_ I said. _"How's that possible?"_ asked Fishlegs. _"Well, there's … not very many houses on my island, so we don't have very many attacks there, since dragons only raid places with a lot of food. And when there is one, my father keeps me in the basement for my safety. He didn't want me to fight dragons until I learned how to do it." "Oh I see."_ said Fishlegs. Well that worked out.

"_Let's get started!"_ said Gobber, who had just put a hook attachment on his missing arm. _"Oh I've almost forgot. The recruit who does best in the whole first year class in the next few weeks, will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."_ he said. Oh man, this just keeps getting better and better. _"Well, we all know who will win that honor now will we?" _said Snotlout being full of himself again. Everyone else just rolled their eyes annoyed, and then they walked towards the center of the arena.

I just looked down at my feet feeling really sick to my stomach. Gobber walked up to me and patted me on the back, walked me towards the others, and said, _"Don't worry. You're small and a bit on the scrawny side. Dragons don't really go for those kinds of people. That will make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead."_ Then he giggled a bit. _"Funny,"_ I said, _"I thought those giant lizards would love to have a specimen like me for dinner. Thanks anyway for trying to make me feel better." _I said with an un-amused smile._ "No problem!"_ said Gobber cheerfully not taking what I said seriously.

He walked in front of us, while I bowed my head to the others when I got in line. _"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!"_ Gobber said, and then he started pointing to the doors where the dragons were held. _"The Deadly Nadder!"_ he said pointing to a door being banged hard. _"Speed: 8 Armor: 16."_ Fishlegs said determined. _"Oh boy, hard head!"_ I said to myself feeling a bit more nervous than before. _"The Hideous Zippleback."_ Gobber said pointing to a door that was being rammed harder than the Nadder's. _"Plus eleven stealth times two."_ Fishlegs stated. _"Double trouble!"_ I said even more nervous. _"The Monstrous Nightmare."_ Gobber said pointing to the door with a vertical log blockade that was being banged the hardest. _"Fire Power: 15."_ Fishlegs said getting more excited. _"Burning Hot!"_ I said suddenly feeling that this was a really bad idea. _"The Terrible Terror."_ Gobber said pointing to a door that had more blockades than the others. _"Attack: 8, Venom: 12."_ Fishlegs said rearing to go. _"__**WAIT, VENOM**__!"_ I said really worried. _**"CAN YOU TWO STOP THAT?"**_ shouted Gobber, who was getting really irritated with us and our comments. We stood up straight immediately and kept our mouths close. He rolled his eyes and put his hand on a lever next to a door with a horizontal log blockade. _"And…"_ said Gobber continuing what he was saying before he shouted at us for our comments, _"… the Gronkle." _He finished. _"Jaw Strength: 8."_ Fishlegs whispered to me, probably not wanting to be caught again. _**"Definitely don't want one of those to take a bite out of you."**_ I thought to myself.

"_Wait Gobber,"_ said Snotlout looking more scare than when we started the classes, _"Are you sure this is a good idea?" _he asked. _"Like I said before, I believe in…"_ Gobber started. _"Learning on the job."_ all of us said at the same time in bored voices and rolling our eyes. _"Right!"_ said Gobber, _"So you know what's next."_ And before we knew it, he pushed down the lever, the log blockade was lifted by a cord, the doors flew opened, and the Gronkle came hovering at us like there was no tomorrow.

It was a greenish yellow brown, with bat wings and ears, hovering like a hummingbird. Its jaw was really big; no wonder its jaw strength was eight. On the lower part of its jaw were warts of some kind. The scales were a little bit glossy, meaning it was a female. I have heard that the scales of a male dragon are lot shiner than a female's. She looked really furious and she was heading straight for us.

Without a second thought, we all scattered in different directions trying to evade her. My mind was in a blur. Gobber said that one who does best in the class will **"****kill****"** a dragon, so I don't think have to kill it in this class…yet. _"Today is about survival."_ Gobber said. Oh well that's oblivious, you don't want to die on the first day of training. _"If you get blasted… you're dead." _Gobber said. This definitely isn't the idea of someone's first class of Dragon Training for first year kids like us. The Gronkle flew past us, went right into a wall, and swallowed a few loose rocks. I have heard that Gronkles melt rocks in their stomachs for their fire that was almost like exploding lava rocks. Looks like she's going to bring on some serious heat.

"_Quick!"_ shouted Gobber, _"What's the first thing you will need?"_ he asked. _"A Doctor?" _I said too tense to give a serious answer. _"Plus Five Speed?"_ said Fishlegs, who looked like he was about to wet his pants any minute. _"A Shield."_ Asgerd said giving the oblivious answer. _"Shields. Go!"_ ordered Gobber. And with that we had our shields at our sides in an instant.

Tuffnut was having trouble coordinating his hands with his shield and spear. They kept getting tangled with each other. Ruffnut and the other girls on the upper viewing floor were laughing at the top of their lungs at Tuffnut's clumsiness. _"I guess the eggs we had for breakfast this morning and the way you boys are moving aren't the only things scrambled."_ Ruffnut said. _"What did I said about being quiet?" _Tuffnut yelled. _"Try and make me, Big Brother!"_ she yelled back. They were so focus on fighting each other with their words, (when they rather be fighting with their fists) that Tuffnut didn't notice that the Gronkle caught sight of him and was heading straight for him. _**"TUFFNUT LOOK OUT TO YOUR LEFT!"**_ I yelled trying to warn him, but when he turned to his left, the Gronkle shot a fireball at him and it shattered his shield in pieces sending Tuffnut flat on his back. _"Tuffnut, you're out!"_ Gobber said in a bored voice. _"What?"_ Tuffnut asked dizzily. _"Are you okay, Tuff?"_ I asked. _"I'm fine, but who's Tuff?" _Tuffnut said too dizzy to think straight while he got up.

"_Those shields are good for other thing."_ Gobber said, _"Noise! Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!" _Immediately, we hit our shields with our weapons, making clanking noises. The Gronkle started shaking weird, her eyes were going around in different directions. I didn't know it, but she was seeing multiples of us. We all began to circle around her still banging our weapons against our shields.

"_All dragons have a limited number of shots."_ Gobber said continuing his lesson, _"How many does a Gronkle have?"_ We stopped banging our shields to try to answer Gobber's question, then the Gronkle snapped out of her confusion and shot a look at us. With that, we scattered again. While they were trying to get back at the dragon, I went behind the weapon rack to catch my breath. Seems cowardly I know, but I had been jumping, swinging my weapons, dodging, aiming, and doing a lot of physical stuff half the day (And I'm not using this as an excuse either). _"Five?"_ I heard Snotlout guess. I would have corrected him, but I didn't know the answer. _"No. Six!"_ Fishlegs answered (of course) as he raised his shield over his head. _"Correct, Six!"_ said Gobber cheerfully, Fishlegs was so beamed with pride of his dragon knowledge, that he didn't notice the Gronkle stopped, flew backwards, and turned to her right. She was right behind Fishlegs. _"I really don't-"_ Fishlegs started to say, but he was interrupted when the Gronkle shot her fire at him. It hit Fishleg's shield and it flew right out of his hand. _"Fishlegs, out!"_ shouted Gobber in a bored voice. Immediately, Fishlegs ran with his hands in the air (Which made him look like he was running on his tip-toes) to the side of the arena to join Tuffnut screaming at the top of his lungs.

"_Leif!"_ Gobber shouted at me. He noticed I was behind the weapons rack_. "Get in there!"_ he ordered. I side stepped to the left; out of my hiding place in a crouched position. Then the Gronkle shot a fireball at me, making one less shot for her. I side-stepped back to my right behind the weapon rack. I poked my head out and when I saw the coast was clear, I ran out to help out, ready for action.

I stopped when I saw Snotlout flirting with the girls on the upper viewing floor again. I rolled my eyes and groan; this is really not the time for him to be making goo-goo eyes at them_. "So anyway, I'm moved to my parent's basement. You ladies should come by sometime to watch me work out, since you like watching me clean the floor with these guys." __**"Oh come on, you were just stumbling around the whole time and you almost fell asleep on your feet!"**_ I thought to myself. They still didn't paid attention to Snotlout; they were still looking at Asgerd. He was right behind Snotlout, eyes focused on the Gronkle, ready to strike her at any time. _"Hey!"_ Snotlout said started to get annoyed with the blonde-haired boy. Since Asgerd moved here, Snotlout's girl problems have gotten worse than usual. So, they were pretty much rivals, however I don't think Asgerd is interested in finding a girlfriend. But I kind of hope I would be an exception. Girls pretty much forgot Snotlout existed. _"Pretty boy! Stop showing off for the ladies!"_ Snotlout shouted. Then the Gronkle started to light another shot at the two boys, but Asgerd cart-wheeled away to his left. The Gronkle shot her fireball and it sent Snotlout flying to the wall. _"Snotlout! You're done!"_ shouted Gobber.

Asgerd landed to the front-right of me. I was flabbergasted how amazing he was. I shyly walked a bit to him. I know I'm supposed to pretend I'm a boy, but I just can't help it when he's around. Not to toot my own horn, but there's a chance Asgerd and me could be the two best students in the class. _"So I guess it's just you and me, huh?"_ I said trying to start a conversation. _"Nope, just you."_ Asgerd said running to the left. _"What?"_ I said confused. But it was too late; the Gronkle shot its fireball at me right and it hit my shield. _"One shot left!"_ Gobber informed us. However, if I remember correctly, the Gronkle can refill its shot limit by melting more rocks in its stomach.

I got back up, meaning that I was still alive. I grunted angry, I couldn't believe that Asgerd left me to deal with the Gronkle. If I wasn't pretending to someone else, I would have given him a piece of my mind to properly treat a lady. I hit my left fist on the floor, and then I realized that my shield was gone. I looked panicky for it and saw it rolling away from my left. I got back up and ran to get my shield, franticly trying to grab the edge, but it kept getting out of my reach. Little did I know that the Gronkle was heading straight for me.

"_**THO… I mean, LEIF!"**_ shouted Gobber. I stopped when I heard him say my pretend name and turned around to see what was wrong. When I did, I saw the Gronkle and stumble backwards into the wall and the Gronkle blocked me from escaping. I was in the same situation as I was yesterday with the Night Fury. I could hardly breathe, at least the Gronkle didn't pin me with her paw like that Night Fury did. The dragon was preparing to shoot her last fireball at me. I turned my head to my left; this dragon wasn't going to show me mercy like the Night Fury did. I was ready to except my fate, once I heard the blast; I immediately curled into a ball, hands over my heads. When I opened my eyes, I noticed I was still in the training ring. I looked up and saw Gobber, who had his hook attachment on his missing arm in the Gronkle's mouth, trying to keep her away from me.

"_And that's six."_ Gobber said. The Gronkle was struggling to get away from the veteran Viking. _"Go back to bed, you overgrown sausage!"_ Gobber told the Gronkle as he put her back in her cage in the wall. Once the Gronkle was in, Gobber pulled the lever to its original position, closing the cage. Then he turned to us. _"You'll get another chance, don't you worry."_ he said trying to cheer us up.

"_Are you guys okay?"_ I asked Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout (He's still my cousin.) _"Yeah, we're okay!"_ said Tuffnut. _"Thanks for asking!"_ said Fishlegs. _"Yeah! Great! Better than you anyway." _said Snotlout in a bad mood trying to get under my skin. Gobber grabbed my right arm to help me on my feet.

"_What happen?"_ Gobber asked in a whisper, _"You were doing fine, until this class."_ he said confused. I couldn't tell him about the Night Fury, I have to think of a reasonable let true excuse. _"Um… the Nightmare yesterday really gave me quite a fright." _I said, _"I must still not be over it."_ _"Well okay, just remember,"_ he started, _"Dragons will always…"_ then he stopped to give me a serious look, _"Always… go for the kill."_

I looked at the crater created by the Gronkle's fire. I walked out the arena with the others. I decided to go to the forest to try and find the Night Fury again. What Gobber said really got me thinking. I turned towards the direction of the forest, and then Asgerd saw me. _"Where are you going, Anderson?"_ he asked. _"I'm just going for a walk."_ I said. _"Alright,"_ said Gobber, _"Just come to the great hall at sunset, we're going to go over what we learned today." "Okay!"_ I called back. _"I will!"_ Are dragons really that horrible? I have to find out, no matter what.


	8. Chapter 8

_**How to Train your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 8-Have I Entered a Different World?**_

When I got to the edge of the village, I took cover behind a tree. When I was sure no one was looking; I took my wig off and put it in my vest, let my hair down, and put it in my usual hair style. I also took my locket out of my vest pocket and put it back around my neck. I got out my cloak and put it on. I checked again if anyone was looking; and with that, I dashed into the forest. Now normally, we're not supposed to go deep into the forest. But as you can guess, I'm not the type of girl that likes to stay indoors at all times. Whenever I can, I would sneak into the forest and explore. I would have a bit of problems in there every now and again, but miraculously, I seem to live through them every time.

I walked and walked, trying to remember how to get to the place where I found the Night Fury. I was starting to think that what happened was nothing but a strange dream. But then I saw the trench that was made by the dragon's crash landing I knew that what happened yesterday really was real. I ran over the hill, looked behind the boulder, and sure enough, the bolas I cut to set the dragon loose were still there. _**"Dragons will always… always go for the kill." **_Gobber's words kept echoing in my head. I stared at the bolas and picked up one of the large tied stones. _"So, why didn't you?"_ I asked aloud.

I decided to go in the direction the Night Fury flew off in. I turned myself in the direction I was facing when the Night Fury pinned me. I believe that it went to the center right of me. I knew it had to be the right direction, I recognized the cliff it crashed into when it spared me. I still don't know why it was flying so awkwardly back then. I walked in that direction, jumped over a log along the way, and started my search for the black Night Fury.

I walked in the same direction for what seems like an hour. I kept finding broken branches along the paths. I kept looking for any signs of the Night Fury, but nothing. Then I realized that the Night Fury has wings, so it can fly. _"Well, this was a waste of time, Thora,"_ I said to myself, _"That ridiculous dragon must have flown miles away by__**…**__**NNNNOOOWWWWWWWWW!**__"_ I landed flat on my back with dirt and small rocks falling all around me. I got back up and rubbed my aching head and got a good look where I was; I had fallen in some kind of cave. The ceiling must have gotten too thin and weak to support my weight, (or anyone's weight in Berk's case) and collapse. Yet another problem our island is starting to have after the past three hundred years, unstable grounds. I saw a bright light at the end of the cave. I checked my body, as I got to my feet I noticed that I was going to be sore for a while, which means the light at the end of the tunnel doesn't lead to Valhalla, thankfully. I walked towards the light, ducked under a root that was near the ceiling of the cave, and what I saw when I got out of the cave could not be explain. The place I have found had me totally speechless; I thought I would never see a place like this for as long as I live.

It was like a whole different world; Mama told what summertime was like in England, this was exactly what I imagined it to be. It was a small canyon-like cove; there was a crystal clear blue lake in the middle, a waterfall, and roots along the walls. I also couldn't believe what was all over the place. Flowers of all kinds.

There were white carnations, daisies, white, red, and orange lilies, purple thistles, and blue and white violets. Some various colors and species of wallflowers on the walls of the cove. There were also a few red, yellow, pink, lavender, and even about ten blue wild roses among a bunch of white wild roses. They were all in perfect condition; it was like summer had been isolated in this one place. They're so beautiful; I never thought I would see any flowers at all.

Small rays of sunlight lit up parts of the place and small birds were flying around; making it look like a completely different world. There was a huge smile on my face with astonishment. _"Well,"_ I said to myself, _"I may not have found the Night Fury, but I've found something even better." _This would be a great place to be by myself, like a secret garden. I could use this as a place to get away from the village for a while, draw some ideas for inventions or sketch, or anything I want to do here and not have the villagers nag me about not doing things a normal Hairy-Hooligan girl should be doing. But then again, I'm not a full-blooded Hairy-Hooligan girl.

I noticed something out of the corner of my eye; I turned my head to my left and saw shiny blackish objects on the ground. I bent over and picked up the object. It was a scale, possibly the Night Fury's. There was something else about the scale, but before I could describe what it was, a large black blur flew right past me and startled me. I gasped, dropped the scale, and fell backward onto the floor of the tunnel. I got back up and I saw the Night Fury trying to claw its way up the smooth walls of the cove. But it slipped downwards, turned around, and glided over the lake before crashing roughly on the ground.

I couldn't believe the chances of finding the black dragon again. I spotted an edge on my left; I crouched down and jumped on the edge and almost slid off the side as I ran to it. The Night Fury jumped off a log and flapped its large wings and was able to glide for a few seconds before crashing into the wall and landing roughly on the ground.

I know I shouldn't be feeling this way, but this creature was just so amazing. I just lay there in awe. It tried to take a vertical takeoff, using its claws to try to grab the walls of cove, but no luck. I decided to make a quick stretch of it, so I got out my field journal and drawing tool with a piece of coal tied at one of the ends, and got ready to draw. I got a thorough look at it; it was in a shady spot so I couldn't tell for sure, but I believe that its scales were pretty shiny, so that must mean it was a male Night Fury. I drew his basic form, the small spikes on his spine, the ears like appendages, and the three pairs of wings.

The Night Fury landed harshly on the ground again after another try and roared in frustration. I had finished the drawing, but something was bugging me. He seemed to be having these troubles flying ever since I cut him loose from the bolas and he spared my life (which still baffled me). _"Why don't you just fly away?"_ I asked whispering to myself. He fired a fireball at the soil also in disappointment with himself.

Then I noticed that the left tail fin was missing. I rubbed the left tail off of my drawing, and then it hit me. The tailfin was probably torn off when I shot him down with my bola cannon. It was probably used to help him steer in the air and without it he can't fly for more than three seconds and it was all my fault.

The Night Fury tried one more time to try to fly again, but less than three seconds later; he crashed near the side of the lake. Then something splashed in the water. There must be fish in that lake. The Night Fury limped a bit to side of the lake and put his head in to get one of them, but the fish probably swam away immediately since he pulled his head out empty-handed, or this case, possibly "stomach".

Guilt built up in my stomach and made my heart heavy. I took a guilty sigh; this poor creature probably couldn't hunt for himself properly because of me. I was so lost in thought of what I've done, that I didn't notice that my drawing tool had rolled out of my hand. I saw it and tried to grab it before it could get away, but it escaped me before I could get a hold of it. It bounced off a large rock and then landed on the ground. The Night Fury noticed, looked up to try to find the source of the strange object, and he saw me on the edge on the wall. I froze at once, thinking he was going to attack me any minute, but oddly enough, he didn't. He just lay there, looking at me with curiously. I sat up straight and tilted my head in wonder and he did the same.

We stared at each other for seemed like an eternity. Then there was a flash of lightning and the sound of thunder. I immediately covered my ears and closed my eyes tightly, my name may be named after Thor, but that doesn't mean I'm not afraid of thunderstorms. I have been frightened by them since I was a little girl; although my brontophobia is not bad as it was when I was a little girl. I opened my eyes and saw the Night Fury whimpering and he had covered his head with his wings. I guess he doesn't like thunder and lightening either.

I realized it must be getting late. I got to get back to the village, or I'll miss the meeting at the great hall. I got one last look at the Night Fury, who had taken shelter underneath a tree which was propelled up by its large thick roots. I hope he'll be alright. Okay why am I worried about that dragon? I have decided have to come back later to find out if dragons really as bad as people say they are. I turned around and went down the tunnel. I have found a rock tall enough to stand on and get out of the tunnel, with some effort I pulled it beneath the opening I made when I fell through here, and pull myself up out of the hole. I found a log and push it over the hole, so no one could find him. I found some red stones and arranged them in a star pattern near the log, so I will know which log has the opening beneath. With that, it started raining and I turned around to the direction of the village and ran as fast as I could before I catch a cold. I put the hood of my cloak up and continue towards the great hall, so I wouldn't be late for the meeting.


	9. Chapter 9I Need to Know More

_**How to Train your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 9- I Need to Know More**_

The rain kept falling down harder and harder. I got over to the border of the village. Once I saw no one was looking, I got between two houses and got underneath the edge of one of the roofs. I took down the hood of my cloak, put my locket in my vest pocket, put my long hair up in the style I had when I had it under the wig, and put the wig on. Before I started to head to the great hall, which was to the right of my house, I looked out into the sea. I wonder if Papa is okay, he may get me mad sometimes, but he's still my father. I also wondered when he will get back. It seems like whenever there a search for the dragon's nest, the time when the Viking warriors return home varies. One time, they didn't get back home for a whole year.

I climbed up the stairs to the great hall. I managed to push one of the great doors of the entrance enough for me to squeeze in. I noticed a bit of dust on the floor, I turned away from the other villagers, so they wouldn't see me, picked some of that dust up, and rubbed it on my face in case the last bit of dust was washed away in the rain. Then I turned back around to join the others at the table they were sitting at.

_"All right,"_ said Gobber doing a review of what we have done in the classes today, _"Where did Asgerd go wrong in the dragon ring today?"_ Something tells me I missed a lot of the review. _"I mistimed my somersault-dive."_ said Asgerd, _"It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble."_ I didn't think it was bad at all; I thought he was very good. Not many Vikings around here are very flexible. _"Yeah,"_ said Ruffnut, who was sitting next to her brother, _"We've noticed." "No biggie,"_ said Snotlout. Oh no, he's going on another bragging streak again. _"I could have done that somer-whatever with the reverse rumble in my sleep"_ _**"Yeah, right!" **_I thought to myself. _"Don't get cocky, Snotlout!" _Gobber said, _"That kind of confidence can get you kill on the battlefield." _Snotlout just rolled his eyes.

_"Oh Leif, so glad you can join us!"_ Gobber said finally noticing me, _"What took you so long?"_ he asked. _"Ah…"_ I started to said, _"I just lost track of time, that's all." "Well we just went over the other classes, and now we're reviewing over the Dragon Class."_ said Gobber informing me.

_"Okay. Where did Leif go wrong in Dragon Training?"_ Gobber asked the rest of the class. _"Traitor"_ I whispered to him as I grabbed a piece of bread and a mug of milk. Snotlout covered the empty spaces on the bench he was sitting on next to the table everyone else was sitting at to prevent me from sitting next to him. Like there wasn't enough room with his enormous ego there anyway. I think he's still sore about me beating him in Hammer/Ax Class. I walked over to another table where I wouldn't bother anybody. _"Um… he was clumsier than my brother." _said Ruffnut. _"Are you in this class?"_ asked Tuffnut Grumpily; _"He was hiding like a big baby?"_ he answered. _"I was taking a breather behind that weapons rack." _I said to myself through gritted teeth. _"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time." _said Asgerd coldly, _"In other words; he's never where he should be."_

I can't believe he said that! I sat down in a huff; I had suddenly lost my appetite thanks to that remark. _"Thank You, Asgerd."_ said Gobber. He hit the back of Ruffnut and Tuffnut's heads to remind them to watch their mouths. _"You need to live and breathe this stuff." _Gobber said, and then he pulled out a large old brown book with a spiraling dragon on the cover. Gobber cleared away some dishes off the table and they landed on the floor. Gobber put the book in the space where the dishes used to be. _"The Dragon Manual._ _Everything we know about every dragon we know of."_ he informingly. I had thought there were no books in Berk with everyone being more brawn than brains.

A clap of thunder boomed outside. I clenched my fist a bit, trying not to be scared by the storm outside, make people think I'm a coward, or give myself away. Gobber took a big sigh. _"No attacks tonight. Study up." _He told us. _"Wait!"_ said Tuffnut surprised as he dropped the knife he was balancing on the table, _"You mean read?"_ he asked. _"While we're still alive?"_ said Ruffnut while her brother groaned, then he stopped and looked at her. _"You're not even in these classes!"_ said Tuffnut. _"Whatever!"_ said Ruffnut upset arms crossed._ "Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?"_ asked Snotlout imprudently as he hit the table and made a chicken bone jump in the air and land back on the table. _**"DO YOU EVER THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK?"**_ I asked annoyed. _"Be quiet Farm boy!"_ Snotlout said with a glare.

_"Oh,"_ said Fishlegs, _"I've read it like seven times. There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face."_ Snotlout just stare at Fishlegs with an annoyed and disgusted look on his face as if he had grown an extra arm. While Fishlegs's knowledge of dragons can be useful, he can sometimes let out way more information than we want to know_. "And there's this other one that buries itself for like a week…"_ Fishlegs continued. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had bored looks on their faces, and then Tuffnut lifted his hand to stop Fishlegs from talking. _"Yeah, that sounds great, but there was a chance I was going to read that…" "But now."_ Ruffnut finished for him with unimpressed look on her face.

_"You guys read; I'll go kill stuff."_ Snotlout said. _**"How can he kill stuff when he's not ready for that kind of stuff yet?"**_ I asked myself. Tuffnut leaped over his sister to get to the door first. _"Hey!"_ Ruffnut exclaimed and went after her brother. _"Oh there this other one with spines like trees."_ added Fishlegs showing how much he knew about dragons.

The only one left at the table was Asgerd. I was still mad at him for abandoning me at the Dragon Ring to face the Gronkle alone, but maybe I can give him another chance. I got up from the table I was sitting at and walked over to him. _"So I guess we'll share…?"_ I started to asked. _"Read it."_ Asgerd said as he pushed the book towards me and then he got up to leave.

"_What is your problem?"_ I asked angrily having enough of his attitude. I can't believe he's the same guy who said that _"Thora"_ didn't seem like a bad person. Then again, I'm not supposed to be Thora now. _"What do you mean by that?"_ he asked as he turned around to face me. _"Being such a big shot lone wolf, that what I mean."_ I said, _"You act like you're the only one in the class, leaving me to face that Gronkle." _Asgerd gave me a stern look. _"Look kid, only the strong can belong. The sooner you get that through your head, the better."_ he said coldly. _"And another thing, don't call me "kid" I'm the same age as you. Furthermore, everyone is strong in their own way."_ I said getting fret up with the way everyone keeps treating me like I'm a newborn infant. Funny, ever since I became Leif Anderson, I seemed to speak my mind a bit more. _"And haven't you ever heard that there is strength in numbers, or together we stand, but divided we fall?"_ I asked, _"You're not going to last very long if you keep up with that kind of attitude."_ I added. _"You'll do it your way and I'll do it my way, Anderson!"_ Asgerd said as he turned around towards the doors of the great hall and walked away. _"And stop calling me by my last name! My name's Tho… I mean Leif!"_ I yelled after him.

I had sighed a frustrated sigh. Not wanting to sound rude, I thought I should at least give Asgerd a proper farewell for the night. _"So, okay, I'll see you..."_ the door banged shut before I could finished the sentence. _"Tomorrow."_ I finished. I sighed. I was starting to think he was worst than Snotlout, which was a first. I was left alone with a bunch Vikings that didn't come on the search for the Dragon's nest. They were drunk on mead and some were sleeping on the tables from drinking too much. This really made me decide that I was never going to drink any form of alcohol.

I shivered a bit from the wet cloak I was wearing. I decided to warm up and eat my dinner a bit before I read the Dragon Manual. There might be some information about the Night Fury in the cove. I have to know more about what dragons are really like.

I put my cloak near the side the fire pit to dry, pulled up the bench, sat down, pick up my dinner, quickly ate my dinner, and put my hands in front of the fire to warm up faster. I was deep in thought; a million questions were spinning in my head. A clap of thunder shook me out of my thoughts. The Great Hall was dark, no one was in here. They must have left for their homes. There were only two candles lit. How did they get there? There was a note next to the candle on the left side. I walk over to the table and picked it up. It was from Grandma. It said:

"_**Dear Thora, **_

_**Gobber and your father told me about Viking Training. I heard that you have to read the Dragon Manual tonight. I've given you candles to read by. I've tried to tell you, but you were deep in thought again and I know better to interrupt you while you're thinking. Good luck. I know you'll do great. Your mother would be so proud that you are going after your dream.**_

_** Love,**_

_** Grandma."**_

That grandmother of mine has always looked after me since Mama passed away. Besides her, Grandma always supported me, she's more open-minded than Papa. I walked back to the fire pit, grabbed my cloak, walk back to the table, sat down on the bench after I pushed it towards the table, and opened the Dragon Manual.

_**"Dragon Classifications: Strike Class, Fear Class, Mystery Class."**_ I read aloud. I turn to the next page; on it was a dragon with a large body, medium sized wings, a second pair of wings behind the first pair, a huge mouth and a long tail covered with small back spines. _**"Thunderdrum: This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools."**_I read aloud. I saw a page where a Viking's head popped off as the Thunderdrum roared at him. _**"When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range."**_ I read aloud. On the next page, there was a picture of a Viking piercing the Thunderdrum in its chest with his sword, killing it. There was a footnote at the bottom of that page. _**"Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight."**_ I read aloud. I've better stay away from that dragon. Then I turned to the next page.

_**"Timberjack: This gigantic creature has razor-sharp wings that can slice through fully-grown trees."**_ I read aloud. The _"Razor-sharp wings"_ were large and splendid, the dragon had small back spines, it had a lengthy neck, and the dragon had a long tail. On the next page, it was cutting trees off in the middle. _**"Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight."**_ I read aloud. That again, something tells me I'm going to be seeing that _**"Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight."**_bit a lot in this book. I turned to the next page.

On this page, a dragon with a fin underneath its chin, a huge body, two fins on the tip of its long tail making it look like a fan, and a long neck. It was squirting a stream of water at a Viking. This must be the water dragon that sprays boiling water at someone's face Fishlegs was talking about earlier. _**"Scauldron: sprays scalding water at its victims." **_I read aloud. _**"Extremely Dangerous."**_ I started to read, but then an earsplitting clap of thunder boomed through the Great Hall before I could get to the _**"Kill on sight." **_part. I screamed and turned around to face the vast doors. The doors were opened a bit. The wind must have been strong enough to open them and hit the wall. I shook off the fear a bit, turn around, return to read the book, and turned to the next page.

On this page was a dragon similar to the Timberjack, except it had two fin-like appendages on both sides of its head, larger back spines, and it was spraying out something. _**"Changewing: Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid." **_I read aloud. So, that what it was. _**"Kill on sight."**_ I read aloud.

I skipped ahead a few pages and saw two of the dragons that were common around here. _**"Gronkle, Zippleback," **_then I saw some in the book that seemed to be moving a little bit. _**"The Skrill, Boneknapper, Whispering Death." **_I read aloud. The Shrill was similar to the Thunderdrum but it had sharper teeth and larger back spines, the Boneknapper looked a lot like a Monstrous Nightmare, but its whole body was covered up with various kinds of bones and its wavy horns looked similar to those of a ram, the Whispering Death had an extremely long body, a large head, covered head to tail with sharp spikes and inside its head were rows and rows of jagged teeth. It could have been the trick of the light of the candle, but I thought the wings of the Boneknapper and the mouth of the Whispering Death moved a bit. These dragons look like tough customers. Then I turned the next few pages.

I've decided to skim through the pages, since things were getting a little heavy. _**"Burns its victims, buries its victims, chokes its victims, turns its victim inside out."**_ Geez these are some pretty nasty ways to die. There were many different pictures of dragons like: plant-like creatures eating dragons, Vikings killing dragons, and dragons killing Vikings. _**"Extremely Dangerous,. Extremely Dangerous."**_ I read aloud. _**"Kill on sight, Kill on sight, Kill on sight."**_ I read aloud. Okay, I'm starting to think that the people who wrote this book were exaggerating a bit.

I continued to skim and turned the pages until I got to the last page. There was barely anything on it, except for an underlined title on the top and a few lines on the bottom. It was the page with the information I have been looking for in this entire book. The information on the mysterious Night Fury.

_**"Night Fury."**_ I read the title aloud. Then I read the few lines on the bottom. _**"Speed: Unknown."**_ I read aloud. _**"Fastest of all dragons from around here I'm sure."**_ I thought to myself. _**"Size: Unknown."**_ I read aloud._** "About the size of horse I think."**_ I thought to myself again. _**"The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance… hide and pray that it doesn't **__**find you!**__**"**_ I read aloud. That doesn't sound like anything like what I saw in that cove. The Night Fury was even afraid of the thunder. How can he be an "Offspring of Lightning and Death" if he has brontophobia.

I pulled out my field journal, opened to the page with the Night Fury, and laid the journal on top of the Night Fury page in the Dragon Manual. Now I was really perplexed.

How can they said that a Night Fury is so terrible, then they have never seen one, have been told what they are truly like, or have been close to one before? It just didn't make any sense at all. I decided to not read the parts I overlooked, since I don't know what to believe anymore. I guess I'll ask Gobber about Night Furies tomorrow. I got up from the table, closed the book, picked it up, picked up my cloak, put it on, put the book away, walked towards the exit, opened the door, and left for my house.

I put the hood of my cloak up and continued to walk. I got to the house and let myself inside. After I closed the house for the night, took off my wig, let my hair loose, walked over to the hearth and put the ashes from the hearth in a bowl for me to use, I reflected on how empty the house is now. Before, when Papa would leave for his expeditions for the dragon's nest, Mama always looked after me, as all mothers do.

I would run around my room pretending I'm on a ship heading for adventures in exotic places. Mama would always smile and laugh warmly. When I came back home from all the rough housing the other kids in the village gave me, Mama would tend my cuts and bruises and hug and kiss me until I felt better. She would sing to me, kiss me when I'm in bed, hold my hand on walks, and give the warmest hugs that made me feel safe and sound. A clap of thunder boomed again, I flinched and remembered that I would get into bed with Mama when there was a stormy night like this. I had inherited my fear of thunder from her. She would also brush my hair near the fire pit and rock me in her chair. She was more understanding than anyone else and she was the greatest mother anyone could ask for. A lone tear ran down my right cheek. Around this time of year is when she died and all of these memories are making me miss her even more. Things didn't seem so bad when she was still here.

I sighed and went upstairs. I changed out of my clothes, took off my boots, took out my locket, and got into my nightgown. I did a quick prayer that Mama will continue to watch over me in Valhalla and Papa will return home safely. After that I got into bed, wind up my locket again, opened my locket to play my song, put it on the nightstand, put my head on my pillow, pulled the covers over me, closed my eyes, and fell into content sleep.

Meanwhile, the next morning on the ocean; Papa was on the ship in front of the two other ships. _"I can almost smell them."_ Papa said while punching his fist on the map which still had a hole in the spot of the presumed location of the Dragons' Nest from the knife he put through the other day. _"They're close. Steady!" _He stepped away from the map to look at a wall of thick fog. The only things you can see are the tips of three tall rocky structures. Beyond this blanket of fog is where everyone thinks the Dragon's Nest is. After staring at the fog for some time, Papa ordered, _"Take us in!"_ One of the other Vikings said _"Hard to port for Helheim's Gate!" _Another said, _"Hard to port!"_ Then another said _"Steady!" _Then they went into the unknown in that thick fog. After you couldn't see them, there was barely a sound, and then…there were shrieks and fire blasts and a single shadowy figure of a Monstrous Nightmare. The ships were under attack!


	10. Chapter 10 Which Side Am I On?

_**How to Train your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 10-Which Side Am I On?**_

_"Help us! Please help us!"_ I was having the same dream again. I was in the same place, hearing the same voices, wearing the same armor, and had the same sword and armlet. Except it was different this time, I was on a black figure I couldn't make out. Was it a black horse of some kind? I felt a slight breeze on my right; I turned to my right, and I saw a large black bat-like wing. What I am riding? _**"Are you ready to fulfill our destinies, end this war, and save our worlds?"**_ I heard an unfamiliar voice echoing from beneath me. Was it the mysterious steed I am riding? _**"YOU WILL NEVER OVERTHROW, STORM RIDER!" **_A loud thunderous bone chilling voice boomed throughout the strange place I was in. What's a storm rider? Is the terrifying voice talking about me? Then that horrible dragon-like face appeared again. It opened its mouth and a red hot stream of flames came shooting out. The mysterious winged steed and me were soon surrounded in a scorching ring of fire. There was no where to go and I couldn't move at all. I was paralyzed in fear. The dragon head then lifted its head, opened its mouth, and lunged forward. Unable to do anything, I screamed a horrifying scream.

! I shot straight up in my bed, panting really hard, and dripping in a cold sweat. ! The morning horn was blown to start the day. I sighed in relief; why did I have the same dream again? What does it mean?  
I got out of bed and walked over to the nightstand, which had a bowl, a towel, and a pitcher of water. I picked up the pitcher, pour some of the contents out into the bowl, put the pitcher back down, put my hands in the bowl, lean forward, and splashed the water on my face. The cool water fully woke me up from that ghastly nightmare. I have heard if you have a dream more than once, it's trying to tell you something. But what? What does it mean?

Once I picked up the towel, dried off my face and, and put the towel back down; I took off my nightgown, put my pants, boots, tunic, and vest on. Then I put my long flowing hair in the style I had when I had my wig on and put that wig on my head. I went downstairs, got a quick breakfast of bread and yak's milk, went to the hearth, and put some ash from the bowl on my face to complete the disguise. I wasn't in the mood to go to my secret obstacle course this morning. Too many questions going through my head.

I headed towards the door, opened it, and headed out. Gobber was probably already at the Training Grounds, he only showed me to my first day of training yesterday, so I wouldn't be late. Then I saw how high the sun is and realized that I was going to be late. I must have spent too much time thinking too much about the dream and what to do about the Night Fury. I immediately started running to the Training Grounds as fast as I could. I dashed through the village and across the bridge, and sure enough the class, Gobber, Ruffnut, and some of the village girls were there waiting for the class to start.

_"You're late, Anderson!"_ said Asgerd._** "Didn't I tell him not to call me by my "PRETEND" last name!"**_ I asked myself in my head. _"I hope you're not going to make a habit of showing up late to these lessons, Leif."_ Gobber said seriously. _"Sorry."_ I said bowing my head. _"Right! Now that you're here, let's get on with the classes."_ said Gobber. Then the rest of the class got up and we all walked over to the Training areas.

In the Hammer/Ax class, we've learned how to block with both our hammers and shields. It was a little easier this time since I built a bit of strength yesterday. In the Archery class, the targets were set back a little further away from us. It was tougher, but I managed to get a few bull's eyes in. In the Seamanship class, we learned how to steer the ships and worked on practicing rowing the oars. At Catapult class, the targets were also set back further, but I got a bull's eye this time. In Swordsmanship class, we also learned how to block with our swords this time. I even got Gobber when we faced each other in the ring. "Very well done, Leif!" commented Gobber.

Now it was time for the class I was dreading, Dragon Training. There was a bunch of wooden walls set within the arena. I wonder what this is for. _"Okay everyone!"_ Gobber said from the viewing platforms, _"We are facing the Deadly Nadder today! I have set up a labyrinth maze for today's lesson. Find a spot take your stand and get ready!"_ Gobber informed us.

We went into the maze, while Ruffnut and the other girls went onto the viewing platform, and the rest of us all spread out through separate parts of the maze. _"Okay! I'm letting the Nadder out now!"_ shouted Gobber, telling us to be on our guard. I heard a loud bird shriek, meaning the Nadder must have been let loose. I took Papa's ax and shield and found a spot where Gobber was standing right above me. I don't know why I started asking Gobber my questions about Night Furies. I guess I couldn't wait to ask anymore.

_"Hey Gobber!"_ I shouted to Gobber getting his attention, _" I just happened to noticed that the manual had nothing on Night Furies. Is there like another book, or a sequel, or maybe even a little Night Fury pamphlet?"_ I asked.

Boom! I ducked a bit. When I got back up, I noticed that the blade of Papa's ax was missing, in place of it was red hot charcoals of wood at the end, and there was a hole in the wall that was behind me. _"Focus Leif!"_ shouted Gobber. I looked to the front of me and I saw the blue head of the Nadder, which was on top of a maze wall. "_You haven't even tried yet!" _yelled Gobber. Unsure where I should go, I faked to my left and then headed to my right. I ran as fast I could to evade the dragon.

The Nadder had a bird-like appearance and had a mix of blue, yellow, and orange scales that almost resembled feathers. They were not very shiny, so it must be another female dragon. She also had a frill head of spikes, a horn on the tip of her nose, and both of her eyes were on either side of her head.

The Nadder appeared behind me on top of one of the walls, when I turned to see if she was still behind me and she shrieked at me _"Today is all about attack!"_ Gobber said on the viewing platforms, _"Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter."_ The Nadder probably had given up on me, because she went after Fishlegs instead and I heard him yelped when he saw the Nadder on the wall in front of him. A bunch of yellow spikes appeared on the dragon's tail, and then she shot them at Fishlegs. However, they hit his shield as Fishlegs screamed. _**"I'M REALLY BEGINNING TO QUESTION YOUR TEACHING METHODS!"**_ Fishlegs yelled at Gobber. But Gobber ignored that remark.

"_Look for its blind spot,"_ Gobber advised looking bored, _"Very dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike!"_ Gobber suggested. I was still running in case the Nadder was going to pop out any minute. I ran past Tuffnut, who has a spear in his hand. Once I was past him, he took a left and was face to face with the Nadder. I stopped and turned around to see if Tuffnut was alright. He was right in front of the Nadder, but she didn't attack him at all. She just moved her head from side to side, while Tuffnut moved to stay out of her sight. I guess the front of a Nadder's nose is where the blind spot is.

"_To the left! No! I mean to the Right! Back to the left a little! No! Right Again!"_ yelled Ruffnut as she was trying to help keep her brother in the Nadder's blind spot. Tuffnut's pride got to him again and he yell at his sister, while still trying to remain in the Nadder's blind spot, eyes still on the Nadder. _"Hey! Who's in this class here?" _yelled Tuffnut. _"I was just trying to help you stay in that blind spot!"_ Ruffnut said angrily. _"Keep telling me how to do this course, and I'll give you a blind spot!" _Tuffnut snapped at her as he turned around to face her.

While they were fighting, the Nadder turned her head to the side, shrieked, and prepared to blow a stream of fire at Tuffnut. Tuffnut turned around to the source of the sound and froze, because now he knew he was in trouble. This isn't good; they said that a Nadder's fire is the hottest of all the dragon fires. Ruffnut had a very worried look on her face. I have to get him out there! I dashed over there and tackled him to get him out of the line of fire just in time. Ruffnut sighed in relief. _"Blind spot, yes. Deaf spot, huh not so much."_ said Gobber as me and Tuffnut were recovering from the aftershock. Then Gobber chuckled a bit at his comment.

"_Are you okay?" _I asked Tuffnut standing up as I helped him up. He looked at me with an awestruck look. _"You saved me, even through you could have been badly burned yourself,"_ he said, _"Thank you."_ _"It was the right thing to do, and you're welcomed."_ I said with a smile. Then the dragon shrieked again and we got back into the game.

When I got out the edge of the maze, I saw Gobber at the same spot on the viewing platform. Another question popped into my head. _"Hey!"_ I called to Gobber to get his attention again, _"So, how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?"_ I asked as the others kept running to avoid the dragon. _"No one has ever met one, or lived to tell the tale."_ Gobber said with his hand on his head, _**"NOW GET IN THERE!"**_ he yelled at me, pointing to the maze, getting really irritated. _"I know, but hypothetically."_ I said as I backed up into the maze. Then I heard someone from behind me whispered my _**"pretend" **_last name. I turned around it was Asgerd. He was crouched on the floor with Snotlout in the same position. _"Get down."_ he ordered in a whisper. So, I joined them in a crouch, curious about why we were crouching. Asgerd took a peek around the corner on his right, and then pulled his head out of that hallway after a second. I heard another shriek from the Nadder. She must be around that corner.

Asgerd took a few deep breaths as he got ready to maneuver. He did a somersault across to the other corner. Snotlout did the same. I tried to do the same, but the weight of the shield brought me down flat on my back. Somersaults are a lot easier to do without something big, bulky, and heavy. The Nadder turned her head towards me, and charged straight at me. Luckily, I got out of the way in time and ran as fast as I could to escape her.

The Nadder got on another wall and jumped down again, right in front of Snotlout and Asgerd. Asgerd was readying himself to strike the Nadder, but that Snotlout pushed him out of the way. "_Step back pretty boy, I'll take care of this. I'll show you how it's done."_ He threw his hammer at the Nadder, but it missed by about three feet to her left. The Nadder turned her head to face the two boys. She chirped a bit, which sounded like a laugh. Asgerd stared at Snotlout, mad that he pushed him like that and miss the shot so easily. _"The sun was in my eyes, Asgerd."_ Snotlout said making excuses. A pretty bad one, the sun was behind a very large, slow moving cloud right now. The sun barely shines very brightly in this archipelago. The Nadder shrieked again and shot a stream of fire at the boys. Fortunately, they got out in time. _"Want do you want me to do? Block out the sun?"_ said Snotlout, _"Can I do that, but I don't have the time right now."_ Those two took different directions, but now the Nadder seemed to be after Asgerd now. The Nadder kept knocking down the walls of the maze as she continued to chase Asgerd.

Meanwhile, I caught sight of Gobber and began to ask questions about Night Furies again. _"They probably take the daytime off, you know like a cat,"_ I said giving an educated guess. _"Has anyone ever seen one napping?" _I asked as Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and Snotlout bumped into me as they ran past me to escape the collapsing walls of the maze, but I brush it off.

"_Leif!"_ Gobber said pointing to behind me. I turned around and I saw Asgerd on one of the falling walls with the Nadder at his heels. Asgerd kept jumping from wall to wall, they collapsed one after another. Then he got to the wall right by me. Asgerd saw me and stopped on the wall he was balancing on. _**"LEIF, GET OUT OF THE !"**_ he said as he fell from the wall he was on as it collapsed. I walked backward rapidly to get out of the way in time. But I tripped on one of the broken pieces of wood from one of the maze walls, dropped the stick without the blade, and landed flat on my back.

There was dust everywhere, the Nadder ran past me, and there was something heavy on top of me. I was coughing from the dust, and then there was something like a hand pushing on top of my face. _"That's an awkward picture."_ said Tuffnut. _"It could have been better if he fell on a girl."_ Snotlout said. What do they mean by that? When I looked up to see what's on top of me, my whole face went a complete scarlet red. Right there coughing from the dust, having his legs tangled with mine, his ax stuck in my shield, and his head right near mine was… Asgerd.

This is really really really bad! Not only is this extremely embarrassing, but there are a number of things that can give myself away; like my thin wrists and hands, a close look at my face, my lack of muscle, and possibly ahem... my chest. The look on Asgerd's face made it fairly obvious that he was angry and embarrassed about the situation we are in. Then, he started to look at me weird, like he had noticed something about me. I need to do something fast before he catches on to me. My mind in a nervous blur, I did the first thing that I could think of. _**"GET OFF OF ME!"**_ I yelled at him as I pushed him away from me into a sitting position and made him let go of his ax, which was still stuck in my shield.

Asgerd was really confused and angry. However, he didn't have time to ask me any questions; the Nadder somehow had gotten under some of the walls of the maze, got out, and was heading straight for us. Asgerd saw the dragon and immediately grabbed his ax to pull it out of my shield, but unfortunately it was stuck tight. He continued to pull on his ax to get it out. _**"OW OW!"**_ I yelled at him as he put one of his feet on my face. Yet another part of his body that has touched my face. After a while, he managed to pull his ax along with my shield off of my left arm. As the Nadder was about to rip us to shreds, I involuntary curled into a tight ball. Fortunately, Asgerd used my shield at the end of his ax to hit the Nadder on the side of her head, smashing my shield into pieces. Great, yet another piece of battle equipment I have to replace. The Nadder then wobbled off, obliviously dizzy from the hit in her noggin.

"_Well done, Asgerd!"_ said Gobber. I looked up and Asgerd was standing right there. I rubbed a bit of dust from the floor and onto my face in case some of the ash rubbed off when Asgerd touched me, and then I stood up. _"You just helped me."_ I said puzzled, but gratefully. Last night it seemed like he didn't care about anyone. Maybe he's not such a lone wolf as I thought he was. _"Don't jump to conclusions, Anderson!"_ said Asgerd as he turn around to face me. On second thought, I take back what I've said. _"What's with you? Is this some kind of joke to you?"_ he asked angrily, _"Our fathers' war is about to become ours. Figure out which side you're on!"_ he said very sternly as he pointed at my face with his ax, which thankfully had a piece of my shield still on it.

"_**WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN?"**_ I asked him getting angry with him again. _**"IT MEANS THAT YOU DON'T SEEM TO CARE ABOUT THIS TRAINING AT ALL!"**_ Asgerd yelled back. _**"HEY! I WANT TO BE A WARRIOR JUST AS MUCH AS YOU DO!" **_I protested._** "OH REALLY, IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE YOU'RE MORE INTERESTED IN NIGHT FURIES, THAN THE VILLAGE WELFARE!"**_he said. _**"I CARE ABOUT THE VILLAGE'S WELFARE FOR YOUR INFORMATION! PLUS, AT LEAST I HELPED TUFFNUT WHEN HE WAS IN DANGER OF BURNING TO A CRISP. I DON'T REMEMBER YOU LOOKING OUT FOR ANYONE ELSE!"**_ I shouted. _**"WELL I WARNED YOU TO GET DOWN WHEN THAT NADDER WAS COMING AROUND THE CORNER REMEMBER! DOES THAT COUNT?"**_Asgerd yelled back. _"Hey you two, cut it out!"_ Gobber said at us as he pushed us apart and made us stand shoulder to shoulder to each other. We stop arguing at once, I looked and saw the others were staring us like we were an old couple fighting, maybe we went a little too far. _"You two should focus more on fighting the enemy, rather than each other!"_ Gobber scolded at us. _"Yes sir."_ we both said with our heads hanging low.

"_But you do both have good points. Asgerd should work on his teamwork skills and Leif should focus more on what happening on the battle field than asking me his uncalled for questions." _lectured Gobber as he paced back and forth in front us. Then he stopped next to me, _"And even through you were trying to save face, I do NOT approve of you pushing your comrade like that."_ Gobber whispered next to my ear. _"Yes sir."_ I said hanging my head even lower, understanding my mistake.

"_Good!"_ Gobber said, _"Now, since you two like to fight together so much, you wouldn't mind cleaning this mess by yourselves and don't be late for the meeting at the watch tower near the forge at sunset."_ We both groan at the sound of our punishment. Although I'm used to picking up after Papa at home and Gobber in the forge, but this looks like a big job even for two people. I should have waited until the end of class to ask Gobber about Night Furies. _"Hey, Leif!"_ Ruffnut called out to me. I looked up to her. _"Thanks for helping my brother. He can really get under my skin, but I'm glad he's safe."_ She said. _"That's good!"_ I called back, _"After hearing how you two get along, I was starting to worry that I've did something wrong by saving him."_ I said jokingly. The other girls laughed a bit. _"Hey! Get to it, Leif!" _Gobber yelled at me. As the others left the arena, I joined Asgerd to work on the arena.

We didn't talk to each other for a while. I tried to get started on the walls of the maze, since I won't have to worry about re-picking the little pieces after finishing moving the walls. I tried dragging one the walls, but it was too heavy. Asgerd saw me struggling to get that wall, sighed, walked over to me, and started to lift up the same wall I was trying to drag away. I looked at him, so he is helping someone besides himself. Just I was starting to think that he has a small soft spot, he got a small look at me and quickly looked away with a pout, obliviously mad for me getting him in trouble as well. Then I also looked away in a pout. However, I said a small _"Thank you"_ for helping me with the Nadder. I still feel guilty about pushing him like that. Asgerd just continued to help me clean up the maze, ignoring me.

We didn't talk to each other for the rest of the clean up. After we finished cleaning the mess, we left with sore arms. Asgerd walked away in a huff, and I stopped in my tracks to think over what he said. _**"Figure out which side you're on."**_ his words echoed in my ears. How can I know which side I'm on when I don't know what to believe anymore? I couldn't focus today, because I don't know if dragons are nothing but mindless evil murderous creatures.

"_Hard day for you, my dear?"_ a familiar voice asked me. I turned around, right behind me was Grandma. She was a short slouching woman with long gray braided hair, ice blue eyes, a kind wise face and a staff made of an oak branch. I checked to see if there was anyone looking, but thankfully there wasn't a single person except me and Grandma. _"Grandma, how long were you here?"_ I asked. _"The whole day of classes."_ she answered, _"I have to observe the class to pick which of the young recruits is rewarded the honor of killing the Monstrous Nightmare." "Oh, so you saw what I did in the dragon ring, didn't you?"_ I asked embarrassed. _"Yes, and I couldn't help notice that you seemed distracted today."_ she added. _"Was it that oblivious?"_ I asked. She nodded as a reply. "_Yeah, I had a lot on my mind today."_ I said; which was true.

I froze when I thought about what she just said about a minute ago. _"I'm sorry, did you say that the dragon used in the final Dragon Training test is a_ _MONSTROUS NIGHTMARE?"_ I asked. "_I'm afraid it is."_ she said solemnly, _"Don't worry, the gods will decide who will face that dragon not me."_ Grandma is considered an amateur soothsayer around here, every now and again she gets a vision in her dreams about what will happen. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to interpret the meaning of the dream telling her about the disease that killed Mama. According to her, the vision was really hard to interpret, something about eerie red mist and a gargantuan unidentifiable gruesome reptile creature exhaling the disease from its breath. Wait! That's familiar to the dreams I have been having the past two days. Are they connected?

"_Are you okay, dear? You look kind of pale."_ said Grandma concerned. _"I'm okay."_ I said, _"Grandma, I was wondering. What if an enemy had you at his mercy, but he spared your life instead of killing you and then he saw you and didn't try to attack you, what does it mean?"_ I asked. _"Well, I'm not sure,"_ Grandma said pondering_, "But there could be a chance that the person in question could be different from others of his kind."_ Kind of like how I'm different from the other villagers. Could that Night Fury be different from the other dragons? I guess there's only one way to find out.

"_Bye, Grandma, I'll see you later."_ I called to Grandma as I left for my house. _"Fine dear, take care."_ Grandma called out. I ran to my house as quickly as I could, got behind the barrel we use to store the fish for our meals, make sure that no one was watching, remove the lid of the barrel, got out a cod, put the lid back on, went inside my house to get another spare, gray shield with a red and green dragon on it, went back outside, and headed straight into the forest to see the Night Fury.

Once I got behind a tree, I checked again to see any observers, took my wig off and put it in my vest pocket, let my hair down and put it in my signature hair style, and went off to the enchanting cove where the Night Fury was kept. If nothing in this village will help me learn the truth about Night Furies and Dragons, I'll just have to find out for myself.


	11. Chapter 11 The Night Fury's True Nature

_**How to Train your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 11-The Night Fury's True Nature**_

_**"Ok Thora, what can you do to find out what the Night Fury is really like**_?" I asked myself. For one thing, if he doesn't rip me apart limb to limb. Maybe if I can somehow touch him and see if he's warm or cold. Mama said the smallest touch can tell you what's on the inside of that person making contact. If I touch the Night Fury and he feels warm, then that means he's might be a good-hearted creature. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

I walked through the forests, looking for the log with the red stones in a star pattern next to it, being careful not to step on the stones. I had my shield strapped to my back and the cod in my arms. I would look up every now and then to see if I'm getting closer to the spot where I fell through the tunnel ceiling. Once in a while I would ache from the pain of cleaning that mess in the Dragon Ring. I really shouldn't have popped off like that, they say I'm just as stubborn as Papa, but it seems I've also inherited a bit of his short temper as well.

Then at last, I saw the red star pattern at the same log. I ran towards the log, bend over, put the cod on the ground, looked over each of my shoulders to see if anyone was around, and then dragged the log off of the hole. I doubled checked to see any of the villagers did follow me; once I saw that no one was watching, I turned around, grabbed the sides of the hole, lower myself down to the rock beneath me, let go of the edges, grabbed the cod and put it on the tunnel floor, grab the log, and pulled it over the hole with just enough room to put my fingers in to move it.

I poked my head out of the tunnel entrance to see if the Night Fury is in sight, but he wasn't. I walked out, found a ledge with a bunch of other ledges that looked sturdy enough to support me, and slowly lowered myself with my right arm as I held the cod in my left arm. I proceeded down the path of ledges and found an opening between two large boulders. I took the shield off of my back, put my left arm through the shield straps, got the shield at eye level, and approach the stony entrance with the cod in my right arm.

As I got at the edge of the entrance; I peek over my shield and threw the cod into the open. After a few seconds of stillness, I advanced into the open. However, the opening between the two boulders wasn't wide enough for my shield to go through. Just my luck! I tried a couple times to get it out, but nothing. I went under the shield, stood up, tried one more time to get it out, but when it didn't come out, I just turned around and sighed, picked up the cod, and continued to look for the Night Fury. Who knows, maybe seeing me without a shield or any kind of form of defense will show him I mean no harm.

As I looked from side to side to find the dragon, I kept getting the feeling that I was being watched. Then I saw a dark panther like figure out of the corner of my left eye. I turned to my left, and right there, on a towering rock, wings spread out, was the Night Fury. He was in a crouching position, ready to pouch at me at any moment. He carefully took a small jump on the side of that rocky tower, and walk down to the ground. As he circled around me, I took a few steps back. He stopped in front of me, staring at me suspiciously. It's now or never, befriend or be kill. This one moment will decide everything.

I held out the cod in my right hand to the black beast. The dragon's black pupils got bigger, so the eyes are like those of a cat, growing and decreasing with different emotions. He slowly crept up to me cautiously with slight curiosity. Making a sound that sounded like a reptilian like cat purr. His mouth was about ready to accept my gift of peace, and then his eyes narrowed into slits again, immediately backed up, and started growling. Why did he suddenly change his mind? On instinct; I took back the cod into my left arm, and lifted the right side of my vest, which revealed the small knife I had the other day on my belt. Then I looked up, the Night Fury looked like he was ready to strike at a moment's notice, appearing angrier than before. Is he reacting to the knife? As I slowly reach for the handle, when I had barely touched it with my right hand, he crouched down even further and growled even louder than before, about attack me at any moment. He's only acting defensively, because I got a weapon that I can use to fight him. I need to show him that I mean him no harm.

This may be the most insane idea I have ever had in my entire life, but I quickly yet cautiously removed the knife from my brown belt. I held it from the tips of my fingers, hold it out at arm's length, and let it drop to the ground. That didn't seem to convince the Night Fury I meant him no harm. He kept growling and turned his head to his left a bit, almost if he wanted me to put it somewhere where I couldn't reach it. Letting the first thing that came to my head decide my next course of action; I scooped the knife with my right foot, and threw it into the pond.

Once the knife made a splash in the water, the Night Fury immediately sat up with his eyes widening into big puppy dog eyes, and his left ear twitching a bit. I have to admit, he looks pretty cute, I mean really cute. I smiled a little and almost giggled. I've straightened myself out a bit and held out the cod in both of my hands. The Night Fury was hesitant at first, and then he started to slowly walk over to me to receive the offering I have for him. I don't think that any human or dragon, has ever been this close without any hostility.

When he stopped right in front of me with his mouth opened and ready to accept the offering, I noticed that he just had pink gums with no teeth what so ever. This dragon has no teeth? _"Huh, no teeth?_" I said, _"I'm pretty sure you had…"_ But before I could finish the sentence, white teeth just emerged from within the gums; he lunged forward, and grabbed the cod right out of my hand nearly biting my fingertips off. I gasped, taking my hands near my chest, and stepped back as he threw his head back as he swallowed the cod in two bites, and then licked his lips with his somewhat forked tongue. _"Teeth."_ I said finishing the sentence shockingly.

After licking his lips again, the Night Fury's eyes narrowed a bit with curiously as he turned his head towards me, started to walk a little too close with a rumble at the back of his throat that sounded like a cat purr. I backed away, feeling that the dragon was getting too close to me for comfort. _"Um huh,"_ I babbled a bit, then stumbled backwards and continued to back myself until my back met a large boulder behind me, _"No, no, no."_ I said as the Night Fury's face was right near mine. "I… I don't have anymore." I admitted to the black dragon. Then, the dragon's eyes rolled back, and started to make choking noises. What's he doing? I closed my eyes, kicking the ground to try and get further away from him, not wanting to see what he was going to do. Then he spit up something slimy. I opened my eyes, and there in my lap, covered in dragon saliva, was the tail half of the cod I just gave him. _**"EEEEEEEWWWWWW! GGGGGGRRRRRRRROOOOOSSSSSSSSSS!"**_ I said under my breath.

The Night Fury then raised his large body sat on his hind legs with his front legs hanging in front of him. He almost looked like a sitting human in that position. Still recovering from the shock of him throwing up that regurgitated cod, I sat up, held the cod in both my hands, and breathe heavily as I leaned against the boulder behind me. The Night Fury just stared at me; it was like he was expecting me to do something. We shared an awkward moment looking at each other. Feeling that this was getting really bizarre, I looked to my right for a bit and then back at the dragon for possibly a little hint about what he wanted me to do. The Night Fury took a quick glance at the cod and back at me. I took a quick look at the slimy fish and then back at the dragon before me. Then I suddenly understood what he wanted me to do. He wanted me to eat the fish. Oh he has to be kidding me!

I look at the fish in my hands and sigh. I really don't want to eat this, who knows what would happen if I ate a fish that was already in a dragon's stomach. I just know I'll be really sick if I eat this. I looked back at the Night Fury, knowing that he could bring down three watch towers in one shot each, it would probably be better to play on the safe side with this dragon and just risk a really bad stomachache. Better than making the most feared dragon angry with me.

Regretfully, I raised the cod to my mouth; I kept my eyes on the dragon in front of me in case he changes his mind. I took the tiniest yet convincing bite out of the side of the fish. The revolting flavor hit my taste buds immediately. I almost threw it up immediately, but I hold it. _"Mmmmhh,"_ I said trying to convince the dragon that I liked the fish he offered me, which I don't. The Night Fury picked his ears up and tilted his head a bit to his right; probably curious about how I like it. _"Hmmm,"_ I said with my mouth full, holding out the fish half I have just taken a bite out of, to show him I did eat a bit of the fish. The Night Fury was having any of that, he gulped a bit. I looked backed at the fish then back at him again. I think he wants me to really eat it, which I have to swallow it. I threw my arms down with the cod still in hand and gave a look that said _**"Oh you have to be pulling my leg!"**_ I tried to swallow it, but it went back up again. Luckily, I put a fist on my mouth to prevent it from escaping out of my mouth. I've finally managed to get the bite of regurgitated fish my stomach. I shuddered from the icky feeling.

The dragon smacked his lips together, as if he was asking how I liked the offering. I gave a smile not knowing what to do. The Night Fury tilted his head a bit to the right and gave me an odd look. I think he probably doesn't know what a smile is. The left side of his face lifted a bit, and then the rest of his mouth started to lift a little. Was he trying to smile? Then sure enough, he smiled a grin full with just bright pink gums. I laughed a little; I stopped myself in case he would get offended, but his smile was too cute.

I put the half eaten cod on the ground to my right; push myself up into a crouching position and reach my right hand towards the dragon touch him. The Night fury looked at my hand, looking kind of nervous. Then his pointed teeth showed themselves inside his mouth, and he growled. But instead of biting my hand, he just flew off awkwardly due to his tail's condition, and landed roughly on the other side of the lake. Then he quickly got up and shook himself off.

I got up and started walking over to the side with the Night Fury. The dragon began to walk in a small circle, and then he shot a stream of fire on the ground as he continued to walk in that circle. Once he was finished blowing those flames, he patted out the tiny infernos on the ground, lay top of the now blackened grass, and made himself comfortable on the spot he made. He must have been warming that spot so he can take a little _**"dragon"**_ nap.

_"Chirp!"_ there was a small bird with three eggs in her nest. The Night Fury looked up and saw the bird fly off. His eyes had a longing look to them; he must miss flying a lot. Then he looked down and saw me sitting cross-leg next to him. I smiled, and gave him a small friendly wave. He just lay his ears back showing that he is getting annoyed. He turned his head and laid it down, his hind legs moved around to get more comfortable, closed his eyes, and put his tail with the fin almost fully extended to block me from his sight.

With a smile on my face, I felt like a little kid, I've scooted a little closer to the black dragon before me. Maybe I can touch him when he's asleep. I leaned forward reaching my right hand to touch his tail. I was about one inch away from touching it, and then the Night Fury lifted his tail and saw me. I immediately stood up and spin around in the other direction on one leg, acting causally, and speed-walked in that direction. The Night Fury also walked off to the large tree. He looked up at the lowest branch on that tree, jumped up on top of it, hooked his tail on it, jumped off with his tail still on the branch, wrapped his wings around, and closed his eyes again. I looked at him awestruck; he looked a bat hanging from its cave ceiling. This dragon seems to have a personality crossed between a dog, a cat, a bat, and possibly a horse. I shrugged and walked towards a rock to sit on.

Hours passed and I'm really surprised I didn't get a stomachache let from the pre-digested fish. I figured if I stay in the cove with the dragon for a while, he would get used to me. Every now and again I looked over my right shoulder to see the Night Fury. He was still in the same spot sleeping. I looked down and saw a small branch on my right, bent down, and pick up the branch. With my head resting on my left hand, I started to draw various shapes and images in the dirt with the branch in my right hand.

Meanwhile, the Night Fury woke up and saw that I was still here. I started to draw the outline of the dragon's head and neck, and then there was a shadow on my drawing and I felt something behind me. I saw a dark figure out of the corner of my eye, it was the Night Fury. It made me kind of nervous with the black dragon right behind me, so I tried to ignore him and went back to the drawing.

I have just finished the outline and appendages of the head and got started on the eyes, meanwhile back behind me; the Night Fury was looking at the strange lines in the ground, doing that reptilian-like purr at the back of his throat. I had finished the cat-like eyes of the large dragon. The Night Fury tilted his head a bit and turned it away with an idea on his face. He stood up on his two hind legs and toddled off. Maybe he went back to sleep, but then I heard leaves rustling and something snapping. I turned around and saw the dark dragon with a large tree branch in his mouth.

He started to drag that branch on the ground and started to spin and weave all around me. It was almost like he was dancing. He was kind of graceful. Is he drawing? What exactly is he drawing? I leaned forward a bit to try to get an idea of what the image was. At the same time, the Night Dragon looked over his left shoulder to look at me. I immediately straightened up and looked the other way for a second. When I look back at the dragon, he was putting a dot on the ground. Was he looking at me to see if he was drawing right? Was he drawing me? He continued to spin and weaved on the earth all around me. At one point, the branch he was using almost hit in the back of my head. Luckily, I ducked, so the leaves just brushed my hair forward a bit. I shook out any leaves that may be in my hair. I looked down around me at the lines around me. The Night Fury had dropped the branch over on the side and nodded to himself; looking pleased. I stood up and realized that the lines looked similar to a human face with long lines hanging on the sides. Like hair. I guess he was drawing me.

I looked all around the drawing; I decided to walk out of the drawing to get a better look at it. Without noticing I stepped on one of the drawing's lines. The Night Fury then flattened his ears against his head, his eyes narrowed, and growled furiously. I flinched; why is he snarling at me? I've finally noticed that my right foot was on the line. I lifted it up and balanced on my left leg. The dragon calmed down, lifted his ears up, started purring, and his eyes returned to a peaceful puppy-dog expression. I looked at the Night Fury and then back at the line. When I put my foot back on the line again, the dragon growled again, I took it off, he calmed down again. Once more, I put the foot on the line again; he looked like he was going to pounce. I took my foot off and put it over the line this time. He didn't growl this time. I smiled at him and continued to step over the other lines. Stepping over the lines turned into dancing. It was almost like ballet. I twirled and spin over the lines. When I finally got out, I felt my back almost bump into something. A warm breeze went down my neck and blew my long hair a bit. I turned around and saw the Night Fury just standing by me, looking down. Not running away from me or attacking.

I decided to try again; I reached with my right hand towards the dark dragon. As my hand got closer, he turned his head to his right and growled. I withdrew my hand and he calmed down, but didn't even try to get away from me. His eyes were still narrowed a bit. Is he starting to trust me? How can I get him to trust me enough to touch him? Choosing to trust my own instincts; I put my head down, turned it to my left until it was facing the opposite direction from the dragon next to me, closed my eyes tightly, and slowly raised my right hand towards the dragon to show him that I trust him. I don't care if he burns or bites my whole hand off, at least I'll die trying. His eyes grew wider in curiously as my hand got closer and stopped in front of his face. His eyes got wider, everything felt still for a moment, but then something soft, strong, smooth, and very warm touched my palm. I flinched at the contract, but I calmed down and looked up to see the Night Fury's snout touching my hand. Any cold I felt then vanished when we touched. The warmth was comfortable; it made me feel safe and sound. It was very similar to Mama's warmth. I knew then that this noble black creature has very good heart and wouldn't harm me unless I mean him harm.

In a small ray of sunlight, I noticed that the dragon had a blackish camouflage pattern, probably to blend into the night sky. Then I've noticed that the Night Fury wasn't black at all, but a really dark blue that just seemed black, might be for when there's a full moon, stars, and no clouds in sight. His coloring is kind of like a midnight sky with those same conditions. Midnight; that would be a good name for him. That's definitely what I'll call him.

Midnight raised his head from my hand and opened his eyes. He shook his head and his eyes narrowed again, as if to shake himself back into reality. Then he took off back to the branch he was hanging from earlier. I just stood there in a daze; I just touched the most feared dragons in the Viking world and lived. The warmth from Midnight's skin kept my whole body warm, like the rays of the summer sun.

"_**Wait a minute… sun?"**_ I thought to myself. I looked up and saw that it was nearly sunset. Not good! I'm going to be late for the review meeting! Getting in trouble for fighting in the Dragon Ring all the trouble I wanted for today. I took one last look at Midnight, turned towards the exit, and ran to it.

I got to the entrance with my shield in it, crawled under it, got up, and turns towards it. I really can't afford to lose another one of Papa's shields. Note to self; make a shield for myself. It took a lot more effort to pull that shield from out of the gap, but somehow I managed to pull it out as I landed flat on my back. I strapped the shield to my back. I climbed the stair of stone ledges to get to the entrance. Once I got there, I turned around and saw Midnight hanging from the branch. _"I'll see you tomorrow, Midnight!"_ I called to him. He perked his ears up; he was probably confused about me giving him a name, but he just snorted, which I interpreted as a "Whatever". I turned around, ran down the tunnel, stepped onto the rock, peeked through the crack of the log and ground to see if anyone was around, once the coast was clear, I pushed the log off of the hole, pulled myself up onto the ground, push the log on the hole, and got up and ran like the wind back to the village.

My heart felt like it was soaring. I had a really good feeling that I was going to be friends with this dark blue dragon. Wait minute,…friends with a dragon? Where did that thought come from? I have heard of forbidden love, but a forbidden friendship? That's beyond crazy as far as the other villagers are concerned. But then again, I have a lot of secrets that have kept away from the other villagers, especially from Gobber and Papa. Midnight is undeniably a good-hearted creature. I will tell no one about this, because I really believe that he can be a true friend, my first true friend.


	12. Chapter 12

_**How to Train your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 12-A Risk I Must Take to Do What's Right**_

I ran through the forest towards the village with a bright smile on my face that I haven't had since I was a very little girl. I was pretty sure my eyes were shining with excitement. I can still feel Midnight's warm skin on my palm; it was such an amazing feeling. However, I controlled myself once I saw the familiar smoke from the fireplaces in the village. I slowed down to a walk, looked to see if anyone was watching, and pulled out my wig.

But before I can put my long hair up, a spear landed in the tree trunk right in front of me, just an inch in front of my face. _**"WHOA!"**_ I screamed, _**"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE THROWING THAT THING!"**_ I froze immediately, figuring that I have just been caught. I had expected one of the remaining village men to be in front of me, but instead it was Ruffnut standing about ten feet away from me and the tree trunk with a worried look on her face. Ruffnut was the one who threw this spear from that distance? I have difficulty hitting a target with my arrows at a nine feet distance. I looked back the tree, there was a target sign on the trunk and it seems like a few years old with a bunch of nicks with the spear right on the bull's eye. Was Ruffnut practicing her aim with the spear? One thing's for sure, she's a better shot than her brother.

After a few seconds, she rapidly turned around and ran away from me. _"Wait!"_ I shouted as I ran after her dropping my wig on the ground. _"Wait! Wait! Slow down! Wait a second!"_ Ruffnut was fast for someone still wearing a long skirt, but not fast enough. She was trying to climb over a rock to get away, but I caught up with her and grabbed her by the shoulder. _"Hold up!"_ I said.

Realizing she's been caught, she turned around with a defeated look. _"Look it was an accident. I know I'm not supposed to be doing this."_ She said trying to explain herself. _"Never mind almost taking my head off … can't believe I just said that."_ I said_, "Where did you learn to throw like that?"_ I asked in astonishment. _"I didn't learn I just do it."_ Ruffnut admitted.

We walked back to the tree, Ruffnut took the spear out the trunk, walked back to the spot she was when she threw it, took aim, threw it, and it landed right on the bull's eye again. _"Wow!"_ I said impressed. _"What is this for?" _I asked, _"But I think I have a pretty good idea about what's going on."_ _"What you want to be doing, I guess… training in secret to become a Viking warrior. Why should my half-brained brother have all the fun?"_ She said looking away with an embarrassed blush on her face. I thought so, but I had no idea that other girls in my village wanted to be Viking warriors as well.

"_So that's why you always seem so sympathetic towards me when the boys tease me about being a Viking warrior."_ I said. Ruffnut looked at me with a suspicious look. _"Aren't those the clothes that Leif Anderson was wearing?"_ she asked. I looked down at my clothes; it looks like I have been found out too. _"Actually, I have been doing some secret training myself for about six years now."_ I said staring at my feet. _"That's twice as long as I have been doing this." _said Ruffnut.

Seeing that I knew her secret, I might as well tell her mine. I picked up my wig, brought my hair up in my left hand, and put on the wig. Ruffnut was a little surprised that I was disguised as boy in training, but she seemed to accept it quite quickly. _"No wonder I thought that Leif wasn't my type, because he's really a she. I can also stop wondering why you push Asgerd like that."_ I blushed at the memory of that situation. _"If it were me, I just kick him where it hurts, but that would probably put in a whole lot more trouble than what you got into." _Ruffnut said. _"Yeah you're probably right."_ I said half-laughing. I explained about the deal I made with Papa to her, and she gave a big sigh. "_Great! So, you get to kick some behinds, while stuck being a milk maid."_ she said. _"Wait minute Ruffnut, this whole thing might help."_ I said. _"What do you mean?"_ she asked with a confused look. _"I mean if I can prove that a Hooligan woman can be a warrior, and then maybe they'll let other girls in the village be Vikings warriors. If I can prove myself to my father, I can probably talk him into letting other girls train as warriors as well. We need more warriors anyway."_ I said. _"Yeah right like that will ever happen."_ Ruffnut said grumpily, _"I haven't got to work at any proper training facilities anyhow."_ I thought about my secret training grounds, and figure that she can use them for the time being. _"I have a secret training place I'm not going to use for a while. You can use that if you want."_ I said. She looked up in an instant. _"Really?'_ she asked. _"Yeah, the first training grounds that were used when our ancestors came to Berk."_ I said, _"I added some adjustments through. And don't worry I won't tell anyone." I reassured_

"_That would be great!"_ Ruffnut said, _"Thank You!" "No problem."_ I said. I thought that after Viking training would be a good time to show her. _"I'll show you tomorrow after Viking training."_ I said. _"Great."_ She said, _"We've better get going, we're going to be late."_ She said. _"Right."_ I said.

Ruffnut started to run to the village, but I had something to ask her. "_Ruffnut, can I ask you something?"_ I asked. _"Shoot."_ Ruffnut said as she stopped and turned to face me. _"Do you guys really think that I'm spoiled?"_ I asked. _"Oh… you heard that huh?"_ she said feeling ashamed. _"No, we were just trying to figure what your dad was thinking in that head of his when it comes to dealing with you. You're actually pretty nice."_ Ruffnut said. _"Spoiled is a bit more of Snotlout's style." "True" _I said. _"But don't tell Snotlout I said that." _Ruffnut said. _"I won't."_ I reassured her.

With that, I put up my hair and put my wig on. _"How do I look?"_ I asked turning around to face her. _"Like a farm boy."_ She said in a joking tone. _"Very funny."_ I said. Then we ran off to the village as fast as our legs can carry us. After a while, I got the watch tower first. A few minutes later, came Ruffnut out of breath. "_Boy! What you lack in physical strength, you make up in speed."_ Ruffnut said flabbergasted. I didn't know if I should take that as a comment or a complex.

"_Hey! Where were you little sis?"_ asked Tuffnut. _"Ummm…"_ Ruffnut said trying to cover up her secret. _"I got lost and Ruffnut helped me get more familiar with the village."_ I said. _"Oh."_ Tuffnut said. _"Thank you."_ Ruffnut whispered to me. _"Anytime."_ I said. Then we went up the watch tower to join the others.

There was a fresh catch of fish and chicken and roasting sticks next to a lit fire. The boys were sitting around the fire, already having their roast cooking. Asgerd was scooting away from me a bit. I guess he's still mad about what happen in the Dragon Ring. It would probably be best if I didn't sit next to him. So, Ruffnut and I sat together. The guys were most likely thinking that Ruffnut and I have a thing for each other. It would be so awkward if they knew the truth. Luckily, Gobber was the only male here that knew about my secret identity, and probably thinks that I and Ruffnut are just becoming good friends. Thank Goodness.

I took a stick and a fish and started to roast it. We went over what went wrong in training today. Asgerd and I didn't need anyone to tell us what we did wrong in the ring today. _"Okay kids, how about I tell you the story of how I lost my hand and leg to the ghastly beasts."_ Gobber said proudly. _**"Oh boy, here we go again."**_ I thought to myself as the others nodded in excitement. Gobber always used to tell me this story when I started working in the blacksmith's shop. It was great listening to it at first, but after the first ten times, it just sounded like he was bragging.

I decided to think about other things while Gobber's ego develops. Why would anyone be proud to lose limbs anyway, scars I can understand, but limbs no way. Speaking of limbs, I wonder how Midnight is doing right now. I wish there was something I can do for him. I could bring him food, but if I can't get to the cove more than a day, he won't be able to get food for himself since he probably can't hunt properly without his flight.

"_And with that, he took my hand and swallowed it whole."_ Gobber told everyone as I was still in my world of thoughts. _"I saw the look on his face, I was delicious."_ He said looking really proud of himself. _"He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg."_ Gobber said showing his missing right foot. _"Whoa!"_ everyone said in amazement. They seriously find being handicapped cool? Sometimes I feel like Grandma and I are the only sane people in the village.

"_Isn't weird to think if your hand was inside the dragon and your mind was still in control of it, could have kill the dragon by crushing its heart or something."_ Fishlegs said excitedly as he hit his two chicken legs together. The others just gave him odd looks.

"_I'm telling you, I'm so angry right now."_ Snotlout said glaring at his chicken. _"I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the limbs of all the dragon's I fight, with my face."_ He said. _"Is that even possible?"_ asked Fishlegs. If Snotlout does use his face to fight, if that is possible, it would be the first thing he would use his head for.

"_No, it's the wings and the tail you want."_ Gobber said as he tore off a piece of his chicken. _"If it can't fly, it can't get away."_ he stated. _"A down dragon is a __dead __dragon."_ He said. Oh no! Hunting is not Midnight's only problem, if someone finds him, then he won't be able to escape if he can't fly with a missing tail fin. I thought a moment for myself.

That's it! If Midnight can't fly because of an absent tail fin, then I can make an artificial contraption to replace it. It might be a challenge for me and a major offense to help a dragon, but I got to take that risk to do what's right. I put my fish down and started to leave when Gobber yawned loudly.

"_Alright, I'm off to bed."_ he said as he got up. _"You should be too."_ He told the others. _"Tomorrow we get to the big boys, slowly but surely moving up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who will have the honor of killing it?"_ he asked as the boys, except Asgerd, wiggled with excitement. _**"Not me!"**_ I thought to myself as I got up to leave.

"_It's going to be me."_ I heard Tuffnut said as he propped his feet near the side of the fire pit. _"It's my destiny, see."_ He said. Fishlegs gasped. _"Your Mom let you get a tattoo?"_ he asked. _"It's not a tattoo, it's a birthmark."_ Tuffnut protested. _"Okay. I'll have been stuck with you since birth and that was never there before."_ Ruffnut said. _"Yes it was,"_ her brother argued, _"you just haven't me on the left side until now."_

I didn't know it, but Asgerd noticed that I was leaving in a hurry. However, he just shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and went to help put out the fire. After that, they went to their homes to turn in for the night.

I went to my private workshop inside the forge, put my hair back into its normal hairstyle, took off my vest, put on my apron, took out my journal, and put it on the table. I opened the journal to the drawing of Midnight, took out my pencil, which I had received from the cove when I touched Midnight, and redrew the missing tail fin. I took another sheet of paper and started to draw the basic shape of the new tail fin. I could melt the leftover steel to form sturdy metal rods to function as the bones, some leather to substitute the dragon's skin, and some leather straps with buckles to fasten above and below the real tail fin. There are also some shields we don't use, I can remove the nails and remake them into the balls of the rods for turning, expanding, and contracting of the fin. I gather all the materials and tools I need for the tail and got started.

First, I piled a bunch of broken swords on the coals and lit a fire underneath it. I stoke the fire until they were red hot and took the piers to take theblades off the coals and hammered it into a rod and shape the ends. Then I put it in a bucket of water to cool off, creating hissing steam. Once in a while, I looked at the design to see if I'm shaping it right. I took the nails from the shields, heated them, shaped into little balls, weighted them, and put them into the holes of each of the six rods I made. When I had finished building the artificial bone structure, I slipped a large piece of leather onto it, and sew it into place. I held my new invention to the design and nodded in approval. I closed the fin, tucked it under my arm, took off my apron, exited the blacksmith's shop, made sure no one was watching, and dashed off to my house.

It was really late when I left the shop; the moon was in the middle of the sky, meaning it was midnight. Well tomorrow, I will help my friend, Midnight; get his ability to fly back. When I got the steps of my house, I noticed the aurora shining in the sky above our small island. It still had its greens, blues, and purples. Then I thought of the cove Midnight was staying in, I was perplexed. it had such serene beauty in the plants it housed, why was that? Why was the cove having such lush and healthy plants, while the rest of the island was browning to death? I decided to shake the thought off and just turn in, it was a long day. I went up the stairs, into my room, let my hair loose, and changed out of my tunic, boots, and pants, and into my nightgown. I got out my locket and wind it up. I opened it up to play the song, and set it on my nightstand. I got under the covers of my bed, pulled them over me, and rested my head on my pillow. The exhaustion and excitement of what happened today caught up to me and I fell asleep as the song played while I was hoping that my invention can help my friend.


	13. Chapter 13A Small Taste of Freedom

_**How to Train your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 13-A Small Taste of Freedom**_

_**"What our next move, Captain?"**_ a somewhat similar voice asked me. I looked around. I was in the air on my mysterious dark steed. There were other figures flying in a circular formation. The silhouettes looked like a Nadder, a Gronkle, a Zippleback, and a Nightmare. Each of them had a human-like figure on their backs. (Except for the Zippleback, which had one rider for each of its head.)

Captain? Were they referring to me? Am I leading this group? I know Gobber said I have the makings of a leader, but I don't know what I'm leading them into. Can I really lead this group, when no one in the villages will spare a second to listen to me?

I looked below us; the terrifying creature was there again. Its six eyes were glowing blood red and they were staring straight at me. _**"Come on! What do we do?"**_ one of the voices asked me. What do they expect me to say?

I tried to answer them, but nothing came out. If there was ever a time I was pressured, it's now. I was too scared to give them an answer. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. What if I make the wrong choice and they get killed for it? Before I knew it, the horrible monster reared its ugly head, and blew fire at us.

_**"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_ I screamed as I fell out of bed. I opened my eyes; I was still in my room. I was sweating and panting like never before. I rubbed my hands over my head. This nightmare still hasn't gone away. What could these dreams mean? Was I supposed to be facing that creature and lead some kind of army against it? No way. There's just no way I can do something like that even if I tried.

The morning horn sounded to start the day. I got up in a hurry and changed into my tunic, vest, and pants. I put on my boots and locket, put my hair in my usual hairstyle, and left for downstairs. I grabbed a single apple for my breakfast, got my artificial tailfin for Midnight, grabbed a basket to carry fish for him, and went to the fish barrels. I opened the top of the basket; I grabbed all the salmon and cod I could find. I saw an eel in one of the barrels. I never liked the taste or look of eels, but maybe Midnight will like them. I put it in the basket, grabbed the contraption, opened the door, looked to see if the coast is clear, and left for the forest.

I backtracked a few times in the forest to prevent any unwanted followers. I got to the log, shoved it off the hole, got inside, moved the log back into its original position, and walk into the secret cove.

I carefully stepped onto the stone stairway to the bottom. I looked around for Midnight and sure enough he was sleeping in the shade of the cliff. I quietly walked over to him. _"Hey Midnight."_ I said in a sing-song voice. His ears perked up as soon as he heard my voice. He got up and started to sniff the air. Probably smells the fish I brought for him. _"I brought breakfast, I hope you're hungry."_ I said as tipped over the basket and spilled the treats inside. Midnight cautiously walked around me and started to wonder which one of the fish he should eat first.

"_Okay, that's disgusting!"_ I said. _"Alright, we got your salmon, some nice Icelandic Cod, and a whole smoked eel."_ I said. The moment I mentioned eel, Midnight started to back up growling. Was it because of the long slimy eel? I picked up the yellow and black striped creature by one of its ends and held it up to Midnight. Once he got a look at it, he reared up, wings flapping, and shrieking loudly in a frightened panicked of kind of way. _"No no no no no!"_ I said to him trying to calm him down. I threw the slippery dead animal far to my left as I could. _"It's okay!"_ I said as I held out my hand to calm him down. Midnight shook his head in disgust; he must smell the eel on my hand. I wiped my hand on my vest to remove any of the slime that was left from touching the thing. "_Yeah, I don't really like eel that much either."_ I said, _"I guess that's something we have in common huh boy?"_ I added.

Midnight walked over to the pile of fish again, put his snout in, and found a fish he liked. After that, he dug right in. _"That's right, stick to the really good stuff. That's a good dragon."_ I said as I slowly walked over to the left side of his tail with my invention under my arm. _"Don't you mind me; I'll just be back here minding my own business."_ I said as I bent down to place the artificial tailfin to the tail.

I tried to move the fake tailfin to the tail, but the tail moved. I tried once more, but it still moved on me. I looked back at Midnight to see if he knew what I was trying to do. Fortunately, he was still eating his breakfast. His tail was probably moving similar to a dog's tail wagging when it's happy.

I kept trying anyway, however the tail kept moving. On one attempt, his tail was lifted up a bit, startling me. _"It's okay."_ I said in a soft tone to reassure him. His tail was shifting; I was starting to really irritated now. I put my hands on his tail to prevent anymore movement. However, his tail was strong like the rest of his dark body and I moved along with him. He moved up a bit to get head to go inside the now empty basket, he's probably trying to lick the juices from the fish on the sides of the basket. I slid forwards a little when he got his head inside.

Growing tired of this little game, I lifted my left leg and put it on the other side of the tail. I sat down on the tail to restrain any further movement. I finally managed to get the buckle straps under his tail. I first put the bottom buckle through the loop and fastened it a bit.

I had no idea, but Midnight had noticed something from behind him. He lifted his head, after the basket dropped to the ground, he wriggled his tail around. He flapped his right _**REAL**_ tailfin, which kept hitting my elbow as I was putting the second strap beyond the tailfin through the second metal loop. The real fin tickled me a little, but I tried really hard to hold it in. Midnight droop his wings with a look of hope and the willingness to try something again.

As I was double-checking to make sure that the straps were not too loose and not too tight. Behind me, Midnight was spreading his wings to his fullest extent. Once I was positive that the straps were secure enough, I admired so much my work's shape reassembled the real deal. I moved the faked fin out a bit more. _"It doesn't look bad, this could work just have to…"_ but before I could finish what I was saying, Midnight crouched down, readied himself, jumped into the air, and flew off taking me with him. _"Whoa!"_ I screamed as I wrapped my arms and legs around the dark blue tail, and held on to dear life itself. _"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" _I yelled almost sounding like I wanted to be louder than the wind.

"_No no no no no no!" _I screamed at the top of my lungs as Midnight flew higher and higher. I guess my invention worked. I took a look at the fin and saw that it was closed. This is not good, if I understand the way Midnight's tailfins work, Midnight will… And sure enough, Midnight was heading into a nose-dive straight towards the ground, shrieking. But just at the last moment, I opened the tailfin to its fullest extent and Midnight lifted himself into the sky just before we hit the ground. Pretty soon we were out of the cove and high above Berk. I was little scared to look down, but I did opened my eyes. What I saw was truly breathtaking.

Moving from us was the entire island of Berk. I could see the old and new Training Grounds, the cove, and the village. The view up here was better than I ever dreamed, now that I'm seeing it for real. _"Oh my goodness! It's working!"_ I yelled with the most excitement I felt in my whole life. I looked back at the tailfin and closed it a bit. Once I did that, Midnight steered to his right and we went back down towards the cove. Soon we were gliding across the small pond. _"Yes Yes! I did it!"_ I said with a huge smile on my face. For the first time in my life, one of my inventions actually helped someone. I was so excited, that I didn't notice that Midnight saw me on his tail. Before I knew it, he turned sharply to his left and swung me hard off of his tail. Luckily, I just landed into the pond after I bounced like a skipping stone. It's a really good thing that swimming is the only thing besides swordsmanship and running I am physically good at.

At the same time, Midnight's fake tailfin collapsed on itself again. After a few short seconds of gliding, he landed in the pond with a shriek. Both of us popped up to the surface of the pond. _"Yeah!"_ I yelled with joy as I jumped out of the water and punching the air with my fists as hard as I could.

Immediately swam to the side of the pond, pulled myself out, and started to pace back and forth in excitement of what I just experienced. _"Oh, my gosh, we're flying! It was short, but we were flying! I am officially jealous of you!"_ I yelled excitedly. It was very very brief, but I felt free for the first time in my life. I mean really free.

Midnight just tilted his head in confusion, he probably wondering what I was talking about. But I ignored him and continued to express my excitement and thoughts. _"The only problem was that you could fly, but not by yourself. How can that problem be solved? You only stayed up in the air that long, because I was holding the fin opened."_ I yammered aloud to myself.

I stopped in place where I stood and came up with an insanely incredible idea came to my mind. _"That's it! I'll help you while you're flying! Maybe if I make a saddle to keep myself on you and a string attached to the fin and keep it open, you can fly again!" _As I said this, I looked up at the sky and noticed the sun's position. _"Oh no! I have to get going. With the trouble I got into yesterday, I can't afford to be late!"_ I started to run to the entrance when Midnight blocked my path with a curious look. _"Sorry boy, I have to go home, but I promised I will help you fly again. I'll see you tomorrow!"_ I said as I gave him a reassuring pat on the head.

I got out the cove, checked again for any followers, and covered the hole. I pulled out my wig, put it on my head, and rubbed some dirt on my face. With that, I ran back to the village. I had just experienced the wonder of flying, so I'm more determined to help my friend.


	14. Chapter 14A Change of Strategy

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 14-AChange of Strategy**_

I ran as fast I could to the Training Ring. I was still a little wet from falling in the lake like that. However, I didn't have any time to dry myself off and change into dry clothes, but I managed to get some clothes for Ruffnut to wear to the Training Grounds. Once I got into the Dragon Training Ring, I put my hands on my knees and tried to catch up to my breath. "Why are you wet, Leif?" Tuffnut asked in a confused way. "Um, someone accidently dumped a bucket of water over me while I was walking under their window." I said.

"Well, as along as you're here take this bucket and join Fishlegs, and Asgerd. Besides, being wet like that will be an advantage for you." Gobber said. "What do you mean? And what is this for?" I asked as I took a bucket filled with water. "This is for the lesson today." Gobber informed me, "Now, join your group!'

I joined Fishlegs and Asgerd. I looked away from Asgerd through as he looked away from me. I guess a good night's sleep didn't put him in a better mood with me. Gobber walked over to a door with lever like blockade and put his hand on the lever. "Today is about teamwork. So let's not bicker. Do I make myself clear, Leif, Asgerd?" Gobber said. "Yes, sir!" we both said. "Good!" Gobber said as he pushed the lever down.

Before anyone could say 'Beard of Thor', the doors of the cage flew open and there was an explosion. Soon there was green gas everywhere. What kind of dragon are we facing today? "Now a wet dragon head can't light its fire," Gobber explained, "The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to figure out which is which."

Fishlegs, Asgerd, and I had our backs against each other, while Snotlout and Tuffnut did the same. We really had to be on our toes in this situation. The gas was covering the whole Training area and there was a dragon in there. "We can't let our guard down for even a second." I told my teammates. "This coming from the guy who kept asking Gobber questions during the lesson with the Nadder." Asgerd stated coldly. I glared at him in annoyance. "Look I'm sorry about that, but you didn't need to bring that up!" I whisper-shouted.

"Razor-sharp serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims…" Fishlegs was rambling about random information about this dragon. "WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP THAT!" Both Asgerd and I shouted in a whisper at him. "Not that your information isn't informative in all, but we would prefer it if you not say that stuff when we are facing a dangerous opponent here." I explained to Fishlegs in a calm and firm manner. "Sorry." Fishlegs apologized.

We turned our attention back to the gas where the Zippleback was and the lesson. This lesson was about teamwork, not to sound like a complete lone-wolf or stuck-up, but how I am to work with these guys when they won't even give me the time of day. Wait a minute! I'm pretending to be someone else. So, is the me I'm referring to Thora or Leif?" I looked up and saw Ruffnut giving me two thumbs up for reassurance. I smiled and nodded in gratitude, before turning my attention back to the lesson again.

Meanwhile, Snotlout and Tuffnut were getting cocky again. "If that dragon shows either of its faces, I'll…" Snotlout started to say. But suddenly they saw a dark figure in the gas. "There!" Snotlout shouted as he pointed to the figure. With that, they threw their water at their target. "Whoa!" I said. The water almost got me, but they got Asgerd and Fishlegs. "Hey! It's just the others, you idiots!" Ruffnut said from the viewing platform. "Well their butts must be getting bigger; we thought they were a dragon." Tuffnut said with a laugh. I scoff in embarrassment. I know I shouldn't be acting like this, but what they said was beyond rude.

Asgerd went up to them and punched Snotlout in the jaw. "Ow!" yelled Snotlout. That's got to hurt. The impact of Snotlout's hit made Tuffnut lose his balance and fall backward on his rear. Suddenly, Tuffnut was pulled into the gas. "Whoa!" he yelped. "Great! Could one of you boys save my dim-witted brother?" Ruffnut said calmly like this had happened thousand times before.

"Come on! We got to help him!" I said starting to bolt towards the gas. "Wait!" Asgerd said holding his right arm to block me. "But he's being used as a chew toy!" I argued, "We can't just stand here!" Asgerd took a few cautious steps to the green gas. Seconds later, a long green tail came out of the gas and tripped Asgerd from behind, making him drop his bucket of water. "Are you alright?" I asked. "I'm fine!" Asgerd said irritated.

Then Tuffnut came out the gas screaming and scrambled over Asgerd to get away from the creature inside the gas. "Oh! I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!" he screamed as he ran to the side of the arena. That only left Fishlegs and me with the only two buckets of water. "Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now." Fishlegs said very nervously. "Thanks Fishlegs! Just what I need right now! Some reassurance!" I said. "Sorry!" Fishlegs apologized again.

Then one of the Zippleback's two heads came slithered out of the gas like a snake. Which of the heads is it? The head started to get closer to Fishlegs, which made him so nervous that he immediately threw the water on the head as soon as it got right in front of him. The dripping wet head then gurgled a little bit of green gas from its mouth. "Oh! Wrong head!" Fishlegs said embarrassed. The head shot a stream of green gas at him. "Fishlegs!" Gobber shouted telling Fishlegs to get out of there. Right away, Fishlegs ran out with his arms over his head, screaming like a little girl. That leaves me being the only one with water to defend myself. Great.

I turned to face the first head, only to be face to face with the second head, which was sparking sparks as its fangs clanged against each other. The scales are shiny, meaning it's or they're male. "Now Leif!" Gobber ordered. It's now or never, I threw the water up to the heads high above me. Unfortunately, I didn't use enough force, and the water splashed back on the ground in front of me. "Oh come on!" I said frustrated.

The sparking head went back in front of me for a moment, and then lunged for me, making me fall on my back, scurrying backward. "Leif!" Gobber yelled, wobbling over with an ax in his hand to help me out. The head was about to strike. "GET BACK!" I yelled as I held my hands up. That's when something strange happened, I opened my eyes. The Zippleback started to back away from me. Does it smell the eel on my hands? Do all dragons fear eels like Midnight? Or is it just reacting to the demanding tone in my voice. Personally, I didn't think I had it in me.

I got up and started to make pushing motions with my hands to make the Zippleback back up. "Back, back, back! Don't you make me tell you again!" I said in a stern voice. "That's right! Back into your cage! Now think about what you've done." I demanded as I sneaked the eel from my vest and threw it into the cage with the Zippleback crawling back against the furthest wall to get away from the long fish.

I closed the doors, turned around, wipe the excess slime from the eel, and I looked up to noticed that the others were looking at me like I had spouted wings. Fishlegs even had dropped the bucket he was holding. "Okay, are we done? Cause I got things to uh… yep!" I said trying to get out of the lesson early as I started to run out of the ring. "See… see you tomorrow!" I shouted. I didn't know it, but Asgerd was showing a confused and yet suspicious look.

"Quite impressive, Thora." Grandma said cheerfully as I ran out of the ring. "Thanks Grandma!" I whispered. "I would love to know how you have done it." She added. "Sorry! That's my little secret." I said. I'm not sure that I should tell her about Midnight now. She's more open-mined than the others, but I'll tell her when I'm ready.

I walked up to Ruffnut who was waiting. "Come on! Let's get going!" I said. "Alright!" Ruffnut said, "I just hope people don't get the wrong idea." When we ran to the forest to find the forgotten training grounds.


	15. Chapter 15Predator vs Predator

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 15-Predator vs. Predator**_

_"How did you do that_?" asked Ruffnut. _"Oh I… uh just remember from certain dragon raids that the dragons have let the eels alone. So, I figured I should use one to see if they do anything. A woman's intuition I guess."_ I said trying to make it seem believable as I put my hair in its usual hairstyle, not looking her in the eye. _"Oh I see."_ Ruffnut said.

Then we started to head to my secret training grounds. We trek the trails left and right. Finally, we reached the cliffs where the old Training Grounds stood. _"Wow!"_ said Ruffnut astonished, _"This is a lot more modern than I had expected." "Yeah I added a few of my inventions to it to add more challenges in aim, agility, flexibility, and speed."_ I explained. _"Okay, this is not the way typical Vikings would do this, but it's doable."_ Ruffnut said. _"Let's start the tour." _I said clapping my hands together.

After I got Ruffnut used to the training grounds, I went to my house, got a basketful of fish (minus the eels). I know I said I'll be back tomorrow, but Midnight still can't get food for himself. I went to the cove, and fed Midnight. Who really enjoyed his lunch/dinner. While he was eating, I measure his upper body, so I start planning the saddle I'm making for him. Then I went the blacksmith's shop to make a saddle. I figured if I rode Midnight, I could help him control his artificial fin better. Besides, not to sound selfish, I also wanted to fly again and fly for real. Looks like I have been given a chance to fulfill my other dream.

I found a bunch of leather in the back of the shop. Then I started to draw various ideas for the saddle. When I was satisfied with a particular design, which will allow me to lie on my chest and stomach while I'm riding and steering Midnight, I started to cut out the pieces to assemble it. I got some straw from the sheep pens for the inside. Once I cut out the straps, I hammered size holes in, just in case Midnight gets bigger. He could still be a young dragon. When the body of the saddle was formed, I sewed the other straps to it. Then, I added the leather polish on, and admired my work. Once I clean up the leftovers and the mess in the forge, I snuck to my house and turned in for the night, skipping dinner.

I got up the next morning, after having another of those strange nightmares, (and I don't mean the red dragons that shoot sticky lava). This time, I saw several giant, noble figures standing beyond me, telling me I must do what I was born to do. These dreams won't go away and they are getting more frightening as time goes by. What do they mean? What were they trying to tell me? What exactly was I born to do?

I had twice of what I normally have for breakfast, since I had not made my own dinner last night. I was too tired from making the saddle I guess. I don't have classes today or tomorrow, since we usually take those days of the week off, so I can spend a few days with Midnight. When I got my cloak, saddle, another basketful of various fishes, and an extra string to help me control the tail fin and left for the cove.

Midnight was practically wagging his long scaly tail by the time I've arrived. I decided to wait until he had finished eating, before I try the saddle on him. When he was finished eating, I showed the latest invention to him. Midnight looked at the saddle with puzzlement. _"This will allow me to stay on your back while you're flying."_ I explained to him. He looked at me like I got five pairs of eyes instead of one. As I approach him, he crouched down with a mischievous smile, and then he took off. _"Hey! Get back here!"_ I yelled as I ran after him. He ran, he stuck his tongue at me, while ran after him with the saddle over my head.

Then I got an idea how to get him to see why he needed the saddle. _"Alright,"_ I said like I was giving up, walking away in the opposite direction, _"I guess you won't be flying anymore."_ Midnight immediately stopped avoiding the fitting as he realized the gravity of the situation and went to me obediently. _"That's more like it."_ I said. I knew that would convince him to give the saddle a chance.

I made a small hole in the tip of the artificial tailfin and attached a rope to it. I petted his side to calm down before I put the saddle on. I got the main part of the saddle and tugged the straps tight enough to hold on to Midnight's chest and middle body, yet not enough to cut into him. I lead him around the cove for a while to get him used to having a saddle on his back. When I tried to get on his back he pushed me aside. I landed on my rear. _"Please Midnight; you have to give this a chance. We have to get you flying. Me flying on your back is the only way to get you off the ground."_ I explained.

Midnight calmed down and lowered himself to the ground to allow me on. I swung my right leg over him as I took the rope in my left hand. I settled into the saddle as Midnight stood up again, it seems comfortable enough. _"Okay Midnight, before we do some test flying, we'll walk around a bit to get you use to having me on your back."_ I said. Then Midnight started to walk around with me on his back.

After a while, I backed Midnight up to the wall, checked if everything seemed in order. _"Okay, let's do this!"_ I said. Then immediately Midnight ran and leapt into the air above the lake. Things were going smooth-sailing, but after I checked the artificial fin and rope to see if everything was in place, I yanked the rope and I fell off of Midnight as we felled into the lake, thankfully.

We both pulled ourselves out of the lake. Midnight shook the excess water off of him. I just wringed the water out of my hair and clothes. Luckily, I brought a pair of dry clothes in case of this happens again. I went behind an large boulder and changed out of my wet clothes. Making sure that Midnight wasn't looking every now and again. He may be a dragon, but he's still a boy and I don't want any boy watching me change, especially not Asgerd. Then again, he probably wouldn't be interested in the real me. I put on a pair of dark brown pants, a white tunic, a light brown button-up vest, my fur boots, which was still a little soggy, and the now dry fur vest.

Once I was in dry clothes, I went over to Midnight. When I tried to approach him, he just backed up. I tried to approach him again, but he ran off to the side of the cove. _"Come on Midnight, let's try again."_ I said. Midnight just shook his head and lay down. _"Come on!"_ I pleaded. But Midnight refused. After few minutes of trying to persuade him to try again, I finally gave up, for real this time. _"Okay!"_ I said, _"I guess will try again tomorrow."_ Maybe a good night's rest will help us. He probably doesn't want me to have me around him tonight after what happened, so I grabbed my stuff and climbed out of the cove.

After I made sure that the hole was covered up. I walked back to the village. Did the fall in the lake make Midnight lose trust in me? Or was it because I accidently brought my sword to the cove? Well, I'm just going to have rebuilt that trust. As I was half-way near to the village, I thought I hear something behind me. _"Who's there?"_ I asked as I quickly turned around. I didn't see anyone. I better be careful, someone from the village might be watching me. I can't let anyone know what I am doing in the forests. That would be hard to explain.

I heard another rustle from behind me. I turned around, but nothing. This time however, I thought I heard growling, like some kind of dog. I don't think that there are any dogs on Berk. With the dragons stealing our livestock, it's not a safe place to have pets. I put my right hand on my sword handle just in case I need it. I cautiously took several steps forward. Then I heard several loud snarls, growls, and horrifying barks.

I turned around and saw a pack of seven, ten, or maybe at least a dozen scraggily wolves. These creatures' ribs were showing underneath all of their fur and skin. These wolves must be starving; the dragons must have diminished their prey's population. Now they have found a new source of food, me.

Once the wolves started to prepare attack me, I drawn out my sword to fight the main wolf, but he dodged it. There just happens to be a boulder behind that wolf. The blade hit the rock and broke in half. I was defenseless. Then the wolves charged at me. With that, without thinking, I ran back to the cove as fast as my legs could carry me.

All of a sudden, it started to rain. Perfect atmosphere in this situation, I won't be able to get much traction while I'm running from these crazy hounds when the ground is wet. When I got to the log, I hastily pushed it off. I tried to cover up the hole, but one of the wolves landed on me. I grabbed a nearby stick and hit it on top of its head making him get off of me. I immediately ran towards the tunnel entrance. However, I slipped on the wet edge of the entrance and landed on my side on the ground below. Some of the wind got knocked out of me. By the time I got my breathing regular, I was surrounded. No where to go, no where to hide, and no weapons to defend myself. This time, I was a goner.

All at once, the wolves jumped right at me. I closed my eyes tightly, fearing the worse. Then suddenly, I heard a familiar high-pitched roar and several yelps. I opened my eyes and looked above me. I couldn't believe it; Midnight was standing protectively over me, growling at the wolves. At the next move the wolves made, Midnight attacked.

Midnight clawed, bit, and swung at his tail at the wolves to prevent them from getting any closer to me. But, there's power in numbers and the wolves tag-teamed to add bite marks, and claw marks to his scaly hide. Both fur and scales were flying all around. I was sure that Midnight was bleeding as well. Midnight probably knew he had to end this, so with a swift swipe from his right paw, he knocked the leader to the ground forcing him and the other wolves to repeat with their tails between their legs.

After the wolves left, Midnight was in bad shape. Some of his fangs and claws were lost or chipped. He even lost a few scales. Fortunately, dragons' fangs, claws, and scales grow back in a matter of days. Then, he collapsed on the ground. _"Midnight!"_ I yelled worriedly as I ran up to him. He growled when I tried to approach him. _"Please Midnight you have to let me treat your wounds"_ I pleaded. His eyes soften a bit, then he stopped growling, but he still had his guard up. When I got up to him, I softly petted his side while I said some soothing words. It worked with the children back in the village when they get scared. For some reason, they like me unlike the other teens and most adults in my village.

When he obediently calm down, I got him up and lead him underneath the trunk of the biggest tree in the cove to prevent him and myself from getting wet. That's the second time today that my clothes got soaked, but I was more worried about Midnight. I gathered a bunch of wood to make a fire. Fortunately, Midnight had got enough strength to get a fire going.

He wasn't doing so good; his breathing was irregular and very deep. I examined his injuries, the claw marks on his back were pretty deep, the teeth marks were on his legs, neck, and chest were bleeding really badly. There was even some claw marks on some parts of his face. Luckily, these aren't fatal and they won't leave any scars. But if these go untreated, they can get infected, and make Midnight seriously sick, and possibly die.

I needed to get herbs and remedies for Midnight. Luckily, I helped Grandma with her patients, so I know a bit about healing injuries and minor illnesses, but I can't leave him here. Suddenly my locket opened and played. Midnight's ears picked up and seemed to have higher spirits. _"You like this music?"_ I asked. I can use this to calm him down. I took off the locket, wind it up as much as I could, and set it on the ground next to Midnight. _"I'll be right back Midnight, just stay here and rest."_ I said. I left Midnight, got out of the cove, covered the hole properly, and left for Grandma's infirmary hut.

I ran as fast as I could to the village, not caring that I was in boy clothes while having my normal hairstyle down. When I got to the outskirts of the village, I looked to see if anyone was watching, and went to Grandma's house. I went inside the infirmary hut on the left side of her house. There were twenty beds for the sick and injured to lay down to rest. No one was there since everyone who was injured in the last dragon raid had recovered. I looked around and found the herbs, ointments, bandages, and remedies I needed and put them in a basket. I put a blanket over the basket to prevent them from getting wet. I also got another blanket in case he would get cold. I just need to apply to his wounds and dress them and he should be alright in a few days or less.

"_What are you doing, dear?"_ an elderly voice asked. I turned around and saw Grandma with a big smile on her face. _"Please Grandma I need these herbs for a friend."_ I explained. _"I understand. Go help your friend."_ She said. _"You aren't going to ask who it is?"_ I asked perplexed. _"I trust you my dear. You always have your heart in the right place when it comes to helping others. Just be careful in that dreadful weather."_ she said as she handed me a black cloak, _"Now go!"_ With that, I put the cloak on, grabbed the basket, I rushed out the door and went straight to the forest, but I was still confused about why Grandma didn't any further questions about why I needed this stuff.

The rain was getting harder, and the wind was getting colder, but I have to keep going, Midnight needs these herbs. When I got to the log, I put the basket down on the ground, pulled the log off of the hole, carefully lowered the basket to the tunnel below, got inside, and covered the hole after I checked to see if anyone was watching.

After I climbed down into the cove, I saw Midnight still breathing heavily. I went to the big tree and got under its vast trunk. _"Hey Midnight I'm back."_ I said. I put the basket down, lifted the blanket from the basket, and started to take out the important contents for Midnight.

I lit some calming intense to settle Midnight. I gave him some herbs for him to chew on while I tend to his wounds. This used to work when we had dogs as pets a couple centuries ago; I figured this could work for dragons. He's willingly chewing it, so it seems to be working. I opened a jar of rubbing ointment made of special roots and plants to put on the claw and bite marks. As I started to apply the ointment, Midnight flinched and started to moan. _"Shhh shhhh! It's alright."_ I said as I patted his head. I started to hum my locket's song to calm him down, it worked. After I finished applying the ointment all over the scars, I dressed his wounds with the bandages and placed the blanket over him. Then I continued to pet him to calm down. It must have taken me hours to settle him down. Soon my eyes started to feel heavy and I rested the right side of my head on the left side of his neck. I started to feel really sleepy, I should be heading back, but I didn't have any energy left to move my body, I just wanted to go to sleep. Before I lost consciousness, I felt something warm and scaly covered me up, sending me to sleep.

The next morning, the sun was shining really bright on my face. I lifted my hand to block the sun from my eyes. Once my vision clear, I noticed a large black wing on my body. I looked up and saw Midnight looking at me with a bright somewhat cheerful look. _"Are you alright Midnight?"_ I asked as I got up. Midnight got up and licked my face repeatedly. I guess that means he's okay and that he trusts me.

I looked at the sun and noticed it was almost noon. I slept through most of the day, with that, my stomach growled loudly. I think I should head back and get breakfast for me and Midnight. I got up and started to walk away, but then Midnight grabbed me by my right sleeve. I looked down and saw Midnight giving me a curious look. _"Don't worry Midnight,"_ I said as I pat his head, _"I'm just going to get some food. I'll be right back."_ I kissed his forehead and left to the entrance of the cove. I saw the lost fangs, scales, and claws and gathered them up in my sack. For some reason, I feel that I might need them later. I started to head to the entrance and got out of the cove.

I could still feel the warmth around me, I can't believe that Midnight kept me warm throughout the night; even through he was still hurt. This must mean we are one step closer to our goal. With that, I had a bright smile on my face as I ran back to the village.


	16. Chapter 16

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 16-A Weapon Forged from a Dragon and a Viking**_

As I got to the edge of the village, I look for anyone watching before I started to go to my house. I went into my house after I saw that the coast was clear and got myself two loaves of bread and three apples (Since I had eaten much yesterday) as well as a basketful of fish minus the eels and fresh bandages so I can redress his wounds.

I heard a clanging from behind me; I turned around and saw the two broken pieces of my sword. It must have fallen out of my bag. I picked up the two halves and I felt close to crying. This was the first sword that I made by myself without Gobber's help at all. So, this is very sentimental to me. Maybe I can re-forge it back at the blacksmith's shop. I needed to improve the design on Midnight's saddle anyway.

I gathered the basket and other items and left for the cove. I gave Midnight his breakfast and had my breakfast down there with him after I redress his wounds, I was starving. Once Midnight was finished with his breakfast, he started to lick my face repeatedly. This proves that he really does trust me now. What I did for him last night must have proven that I can be trusted.

I decided to head to the blacksmith's shop to get some work done. I took off his saddle and left the cove. Once I got to the shop, I put on my apron and put my sword on the table to work on it later. I put the saddle on the table and examined it. If only there was some way to attach myself to the saddle while flying. Then I noticed a small belt near the tools. I picked it up and examined it. It had two metal rings hanging on its side, almost as if you can clip something to it. That's it! I'll make safety lines for the saddle and use the belt to connect me to the saddle. I could put a couple of partially enclosed hooks on the front of the saddle to put the safety lines on when I get on Midnight. This way, I can stay on Midnight and steer him while we're flying.

I used the leftover leather straps and managed to find six small hooks to add on the saddle and to the ends of the safety lines. I bent two of the hooks a little closer together for the saddle and welded them to the front. I secured the other hooks on the safety lines. I put the saddle on a hanger on one of the walls, put on the belt, and connected one of the safety lines to the saddle. I shook it and it seemed to stay on quite well.

As for the rope that connects to the artificial tailfin, perhaps if I tried the rope around my left ankle, I could control the position of the fin better. It worth a try. I set the contents of the saddle on the table next to my broken sword.

This wasn't going to be easy; re-forging a sword is a complicated task. I noticed two cauldrons, one of them had molten steel was boiling. Gobber must be making new weapons. Then my left elbow hit my bag and there was clattering on the ground. I looked down and saw the claws, fangs, and scales from Midnight. I bent down to gather them up and examined them.

The fangs and claws were almost similar to steel in a way. The scales on the other hand, were very much like our shields, only a little harder. As I examined a claw and fang, I tripped on the anvil and a fang fell into the molten steel. Not good! How am I going to explain this to Gobber? This could mess up the steel. I poured out the bit of the molten steel with the fang in it before it changes anything, but fell into the water. Great! This piece of metal is ruined.

However, I noticed that this metal was different. It was shiner and seemed sharper. Once I was sure it was cool, I removed it from the bucket and immediately dropped it at the spot. Ouch! My right pointer finger had a cut. This thing is sharper than our normal steel.

Then an idea came to me. I could use the fangs and claws to help me re-forged my sword. Scales were too flimsy for the material I need, so I'll use the claws and fangs instead. In an instant, I melted the metal of my sword in a thick metal cup and pour it in a separate cauldron. I added all of the claws and fangs I got, as well as the piece metal that was accidently made.

I pumped the fire until the steel was hot enough to put into the mold. I put some gloves on and used a metal rod to stir the contents together. Once I was satisfied, I poured the molten steel and waited for it to cool down.

Then I brought the harden shaped blade to the anvil and used my hammer to shape it even more. Once I was content with the shape, I put in the bucket of cold water. Then I got the sharpening wheel started by pressing down on the pedal I made to get it started faster. After about ten minutes of sharpening, I examined the blade. It was really a magnificent blade. It was a dark shade of silver and shining, kind of like Midnight's scales. I attached the blade to my sword handle. This sword was definitely the best one I have ever made or fixed.

I should probably test the capability of this sword. I know the handle's grip was okay, because it was already made. I swung it around the balance was perfectly capable, and there wasn't barely any slight vibration when I hit the non-sharp side of the blade. There are wooden rods we used to test the sharpness of the blades of the weapons. I tried to make a small mark in the rods, but it sliced it all the way through. It's sharper than I thought. I examined the inside of the rod and noticed it was slick-smooth. This is amazing, not even the smallest nick was on the blade.

Out of curiosity, I took a small rock and made a gentle cut into it. The blade went halfway through it and there was still no nick. I cut through the rock a little harder, it went all the way. It was smooth and there were still no nicks on the blade. The strength and hardness of the claws and fangs must have combined with the strength and hardness of the steel in my sword. This was truly amazing.

This sword has given me a lot of thought about the bond between Midnight and me. His claws and fangs were similar to any blade in a way. However, when is too much pressure on them, they break. But when they are combined, they can cut the hardest boulder together. Even my old blade was broke by a boulder. It was a lot like how we are going to fly together. Alone we are vulnerable to any attack, but together, we are unbreakable, I can feel it. I decided to call the sword, the Dragon's Storm. Since this sword make cut major damage to my opponents like a dragon's claws and fangs can slice through its prey's flesh and a single storm can inflict massive amounts of damage to our small island.

I cleaned up the forge and gathered the objects I have just made and left for home. It was nearly sunset; I must have spent the whole day in there. I went home and left the saddle and my re-made sword in my room and went to give Midnight his lunch and dinner as well as fresh bandages.

He looks like he is doing a lot better this afternoon. He came up and licked my face and making a sound between a purr and a growl. Are all Night Furies like this? As he devoured the fish, I started to re-bandaged his wounds and noticed his wounds are like weasel scratches. They were healing really fast. Must be the combination of the herbs and remedies and a dragon's ability to heal quickly. If he keeps healing at this pace, he might be well enough to fly tomorrow. "Bye Midnight!" I said, "I'll see you tomorrow." I kissed the top of his head and left the cove.

I got to my house and had a dinner of carrots, beets, turnips, and ginger root stew, with cow milk, and a loaf of bread. Then I went upstairs and got into my nightgown and got into bed as loosened my hair, I winded up my locket, and set it on my nightstand. As I got into my bed, I couldn't help but wonder why this didn't as comfortable as when I was sleeping with Midnight. Maybe it was because that Midnight would protect from any danger, or it was the warmth of his wings. Wither way, I know I can trust him. I managed to close my eyes and fall asleep. But I just know I was going to have another 'destiny' nightmare before I woke up.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Please keep an open mind. Give lots of reviews and comment what you like about this chapter.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 17-Is This a Dragon or a Cat/Dog?**_

__I heard the traditional Hairy Hooligan battle cry, which is the loudest cry that a single mortal can muster. I looked below me, and saw the whole army of Berk near a giant volcano. I was flying again. Was I riding Midnight? The skies were darker than Midnight was and it was thundering everywhere. I flinched every time there was a clash of thunder everywhere. Why on Earth was I named after the thunder god if I'm afraid of thunder and lightning? I saw Papa leading the charging army to the volcano. Suddenly from a large hole in the side of the volcano, there was a long powerful stream of hot fire. With that, Papa and the army was incinerated into nothing in mere seconds. _**"NOOOOOOO!"**_ I screamed, _**"PPPPAAAAAPPPPPAAAAAA!"**_ What could have done this? I got my answer in an instant.

Out of the hole, came the head of the terrifying dragon. This dragon gets more frightening (and uglier) every time I see it. I felt something in my right hand and saw my Dragon's Storm sword. I looked down at the… err creature. It saw me and I instantly dropped my sword when I heard the loudest clap of thunder I had ever heard. Me and Midnight are defenseless now. I was paralyzed in fear again. The monster opened its mouth and released another stream of fire straight at us.

I shot up in bed and gasped. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. I looked out my window and saw that the dawn had broken. I went to my nightstand and splashed my face with water. If I start losing too much sleep because of these dreams, I'm going to scream louder than a Thunderdrum.

Well, I better get some breakfast; I got another test with the saddle. I changed into my tunic, pants, vest, and boots, changed my hair into its usual style and went downstairs. I made a medium serving of hot porridge and yak's milk. Once I was finished, I gathered as much fish as the basket can hold and put the wig in my vest. I have classes this afternoon, so I need it. I also put the sword on my belt; I think Midnight can trust me with a weapon now. Once I saw that the coast was clear, I ran towards the forest.

Every time I went to visit Midnight, I change my route to the cove. This will prevent anyone from following me. I looked around the trees are looking more sickly everyday. I still can't figure out why the plants in the cove are perfectly healthy when the rest of the island is in need of a serious helping of fertilizer.

Once I got to the log, I looked over both of my shoulders to see if no one was watching. Once again the coast was clear. I lifted the log off the hole and slipped into the tunnel below before closing it again. I went down the tunnel to the opening of the cove where Midnight was eagerly waiting or me. When I got out of the tunnel, I noticed a bunch of small winged figures of some kind flying out of the cove like wild fire. What could that have been?

_"Hi Midnight!"_ I said cheerfully as I caught sight of him, "_I brought you some breakfast. But first we need to take a look at your wounds." _Midnight shook his head hard; I guess he wants his breakfast first. "Okay" I said half giggling, "_I'll check your wounds while you're eating, but no biting me okay." _I put the basket down in front of him and he poured the contents out by pulling the top towards himself. _"You're quite a clever lizard, aren't you?"_ I said.

Once he dug in, I removed the bandages from his wounds and gasped in surprise. The wounds were completely gone, almost as if they were never there at all. This is amazing it only took at least a day or two to heal completely and without any scars. Suddenly Midnight started to sniff me, I looked down and noticed that he was examining my Dragon's Storm. _"Nice isn't it?"_ I said with pride, _"I made this yesterday with your lost claws and fangs and the steel we have at the forge. I call it, The Dragon's Storm."_ Midnight just sat down like a dog with curious puppy dog eyes, which was really cute. This dragon can be too cute sometimes.

_"Alright are you done buddy?"_ I asked. Midnight purr happily. _"I'll take that as a yes."_ I said, _"Let's get to work then."_ I re-attached a rope the artificial fin and tied the other end around my left ankle. I hope this will give more control in the air. I got on Midnight, attached the cords to the saddle, and checked if he was ready. _"Ready to try again?" _I asked. He snorted in agreement and with that we took to the skies. Only this time, we were able to get out of the cove together.

Everything was going smoothly, but I was having trouble adjusting and readjusting the position and angle of the artificial fin. For moment, I felt that the fin was stuck and looked back to check on it. I was so focused that I didn't noticed that we were descending fast towards a large field of some kind of tall light green grass. _"Oh no!"_ I said, _"No no, Pull up!"_ But we were too late, we hit the field and the clip got loose and I slipped out of the saddle.

Once I fell off of Midnight, I tumbled a bit and got back up. _"Ouch!"_ I looked at my right shoulder and saw a small rip in my vest and a slight scrape. It must have happened before I got back up from the impact. Probably from hitting the saddle or something. At least, I have a little bit more control over the fin so I'm right on track.

I brushed myself off and hear a growl from behind me. Midnight! Is he alright? I turned around and was perplexed about what I saw. With a goofy look on my face, I watched Midnight roll around in the tall grass like a dog. He seems to be enjoying the grass for some reason. I have heard that cats act similar to this when they are intoxicated with catnip.

I picked up a tuff of grass and examined it. It seemed like normal grass. Then I took a small sniff, it smelled very pleasant. Midnight must enjoy the scent more than I do, because he practically asleep. Does this work for other dragons as well? I guess I can figure that out in the ring. Which reminds me, I got to get going or I'll be in trouble again.

I took off my vest, put the tuff of grass in my pocket, and manage to get Midnight back on his feet. _"Come on, Midnight."_ I said firmly, _"We need to head back. Can you jump from the edge of the top of the cove to the bottom?"_ Midnight nodded his head for his answer. _"Okay then we better start walking; it looks like a mile or two away from the cove. And if any wolves try to attack us again, they know better to mess with us when they see you."_ I said. Midnight chuckled in agreement.

I walk to the cove was fairly peaceful. The other predators must have been wise not to mess with Midnight. They said Night Furies are the most feared dragons in the world, I guess they're also the most fear of the all the predators. Once we were at the edge of the cove, I got on Midnight and jumped down onto the ground. After I got off Midnight, I took the saddle off him, kissed goodbye him on the forehead, and left the cove.

As I was nearing the edge of the village, I put my hair up and put the wig on good and tight. I ran across the bridge leading to the Training Grounds. _"Hey Leif!"_ Ruffnut called to me. _"Hi Ruffnut, how are things going?"_ I called back. Then Ruffnut walked up to me. _"Hey Thora!" _Ruffnut whispered, "After classes, could you help me with my training? I'm having some problems with some of the obstacles." "Sure, I'll be glad to help." I said.

Once Gobber came, we got started on the classes. _"Today, we'll learn to aim at moving targets and fight enemies on the boat."_ he said. This is going to be a challenging day. Not only will we be trying to aim accurately, we need to work on the timing on our throw as well. And I'm used to still targets on the old Training Grounds. I looked at Tuffnut and noticed that he seemed pretty confident about this and have a big grin on his face. I wonder why?

For Ax/Hammer Class, we learned to aim the hammers at swaying target. This proved to be a real challenge for me, since the hammer was really heavy. I only managed to throw it halfway. I need to work on my upper-body muscles more. Snotlout was having no trouble throwing the hammer, but missed the targets every time. Fishlegs was too nervous to throw straight. Even Asgerd was having some difficulties hitting some targets and growled in frustration after every failure. I shook my head. He doesn't know the meaning of _'At first you don't exceed, try and try again.'_

Tuffnut on the other hand, was pretty much on a roll. Even through he didn't have the bulky muscles like Snotlout's and Fishlegs's, he have enough strength to pick up the hammer. Not only that, he managed to hit at least three targets in a row. Was he holding back these past few days or something?

The moving targets in the Archery class were also difficult for me. I managed to hit the targets on the rim, but I didn't manage to get a single bull's eye. Snotlout and Fishlegs were having the same problems I did. Asgerd seemed satisfied that he got a single bull's eye. Tuffnut was able to make at least five bull's eyes this time. Whoa! He's good!

For sailing class, we sailed once around the island rowing together and navigating the waters near the cliffs with some heavy material for some reason. There were some men in smaller boats around the island as well. There were some random sized rocks in the boats as well. I wonder what they're doing.

That question was answered soon enough. The men started to throw the rocks at our ship. _"Now on a ship, you are going to meet with dragons and enemies in the water as well as on land and in the air."_ Gobber explained, _"Now you need to learn how to fight your enemies on the boat." "That might be easier said than done. With the rolling waves it might be difficult to keep your footing stable."_ I stated. _"A very good point there, Leif."_ Gobber said, _"That's one reason why we are doing this. So you can develop sea legs. Now go and defend the ship from the enemies"_ _"How are we going to do that?"_ asked Snotlout. _"Use your imagination and use what you have!"_ Gobber instructed, _"Now fight your enemies!"_

The men continued to throw the rocks at us. One of them even hit Fishlegs in the head. _"Hey! Don't you know that sticks and stones can break people's bones?"_ I yelled. _"Sorry! But in a real situation, your enemies won't fight fair!"_ the man said back. _"Yeah, that's true."_ I admitted, and then ducked from another boulder.

_"Well anyone got any ideas about this?"_ Asgerd asked. _"Got me."_ said Tuffnut. _"Anderson! You always come up with some clever ideas. Do you got any?"_ said Asgerd. I thought hard about this. Then I thought about how Fishlegs is with details of his opponent. Could he have a talent for analyzing his opponents? _"Fishlegs could observe the men on the boats and see if they have any weakness?" _I asked. _"Good idea! I'll do that!" _Fishlegs said, _"As soon as my head clears up."_

Once he was ready, Fishlegs peered over the edge of the boat and carefully examined the men's throws and movements. After a few long minutes of watching, Fishlegs gave us the stats. _"The dark haired man in the third boat hesitates a bit on his left a bit, and the others seem to follow his lead. If we make him unable to fire at us anymore, the others will follow."_ he explained. _"Alright,"_ I said, _"Tuffnut you seem pretty good at moving close range targets, we'll get the boat closer to him and you strike him at his right and we'll do the rest." _I said, _"Can you lift these things and do this?" "No problem!"_ Fishlegs exclaimed.

The rest of us guided the boat to the smaller boats as close as possibly get without too much ammo thrown towards us and damaging the boat. Tuffnut grabbed one small boulder in each hand and threw the boulder in his left hand at the man's right side and then threw the second one at his left side to knock him off his feet. Once he was down, the men stopped throwing and I took the opportunity. I aimed my cyclone arrow at the capes and backs of the shirts to pin them to the masts of the boats. _"Great job everyone!"_ Gobber said, _"Great Teamwork!"_

When it was time for catapult class, we were aiming at moving targets on various small boats floating around in the harbor. All of us were having extreme difficulty hitting the boats. Tuffnut however, just happened to hit most of the targets easy breezy. _"Not bad, Tuffnut!" _Gobber said, _"You still need to work on far away objects through."_

At Swordsmanship class, we put together three against two. Me and Asgerd versus Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs. We had our backs against each other, guarding each other from the other opponent. I don't think this combination is a good idea. Especially since me and Asgerd aren't exactly seeing eye to eye right now. I could feel Asgerd's glare from behind my head. This is not going to be good.

The three started to swing their blades at us. Both Tuffnut and Snotlout were confidently using their blades with ease. Fishlegs on the other hand was still a little nervous about sharp objects and kept backing off from us. I kept trying to block one of their parries, but me and Asgerd kept bumping into each and messing up others' attempts to strike. Finally, we caused each other to lose our balance and land on top of each other. _"Come on you two!"_ Gobber complained, _"Get your act together!"_ However in the end, we lost against the threesome.

Then it was time for Dragon Training, Yippee. _"You'll be facing the Gronkle again today."_ Gobber said. I really hope I don't have a repeat of what happened the first day. He released the dragon faster than the last time. I pulled the tuff of grass from pocket and examined it. I wonder if this can be use this small tuff of grass to subdue the Gronkle like it subdued Midnight earlier today.

I heard Snotlout yelled, the Gronkle rammed into him and knocked him out. Then she got sight of me and was heading straight for me. Fearing the worst, I tightly closed my eyes holding out the hand that was holding the tuff. Then all of a sudden, the Gronkle coasted to a stop, her eyes got bigger, and started to pant like a dog. I looked up and started to rub the tuff on the dragon's snout. Then the dragon went to sleep on the spot.

A bunch of villagers were gathering around the ring to watch us. Asgerd was starting to glare at me again. Once we were excused, I ran to the exit and went to Ruffnut. _"Are you ready to get go?"_ I asked. _"Sure am."_ she answered.

Before we had a chance to take our first step, the boys blocked us. "_Never see a Gronkle do that!"_ Snotlout said astonished. The boys were asking a zillion questions. We had to shake them off. _"Sorry guys, Ruffnut and I have a lot to do today."_ I said, _"Come on let's go." "Alright!"_ Ruffnut said. With that, we went to the old Training Grounds.

We took a few detours to confuse any followers and checked to see if anyone was following. When we reached the Training grounds, I put my hair in its usual style as Ruffnut went to the Training Area. Ruffnut worked on the targets for a while, once she was content, she took a rest and sat down.

_"I'm quite surprised that your brother is a good shot after all."_ I said. _"Yeah, it's funny."_ Ruffnut said, _"I have a steady hand, so I can hit still objects from far away. But my brother has a quick eye, so he can hit objects that are moving, but are closer. Go figure!" "If you two could teach each other how to do it, you would be an unstoppable pair._" I said. _"Yeah, right, we can hardly get along enough to work together."_ Ruffnut said, _"Besides women aren't allowed to be warriors, remember?" "Don't worry, Ruff. I can call you that?"_ I asked. _"Sure, go ahead!"_ Ruffnut said. _"I can feel that women will be allowed to be warriors someday."_ I reassured her. _"Thanks Thora."_ Ruffnut said.

_"Anyway, what did you do to that Gronkle?"_ She asked. _"I uh… found a new kind of grass during a walk in the woods, and noticed that the Gronkle was acting stranger than the last time, and then I tested to see if she would react to the grass."_ I said. _"Oh I see."_ Ruffnut said.

_"Anyway, I see that you like Asgerd, don't you?"_ Ruffnut teasingly asked. _"Well… Yeah."_ I confessed embarrassedly after a while, _"I have always admired him for his confidence and courage. I always wished I could have some of that. But I noticed that he's kind of distant and a little rude" "You mean you liked him at first not because of his looks, but his courage?"_ Ruffnut asked. _"In a way yeah."_ I said. _"Well then you just have to look deeper like you did when you first saw him." _Ruffnut said, _"And as for having the same courage and confidence as him, I think you already got it and more. You were brave enough to try to persuade your father to let you train and you're getting more confident every day in class." _

I thought about what she said and realized that she's right I do feel a lot surer of myself. I have been expressing my opinion a lot lately, improving my relationship with Midnight, and my intentions are getting better. (I guess learning from the failures of the previous designs have taught me a lot more and have given me a lot of ideas.) _"Thanks Ruff, I appreciate it."_ I said gratefully. _"No problem!"_ she said.

After practice, I went back to the house to get Midnight some lunch and dinner. He was pretty content with his meals. I patted his head in affection and noticed that he was using his back leg to scratch his side. _"Are you itchy boy?"_ I asked, _"Okay, I'll take the saddle off and scratch you."_

I took off the saddle and started to scratch him on the back where the saddle used to be. He seemed to be really enjoying it. He was leaning away from me, making me stand on my tippy toes. I used both of my hands to scratch his side as he leaned towards me. Midnight lifted his head up. I moved my left under his chin. All of a sudden, he just collapsed on the ground. _"Midnight, Are you alright?"_ I asked frantic. Midnight just laid there with a smile on his face. I examined my hands in front of me. Did I scratch some kind of pressure point?

I stayed a little longer to make sure he was alright. After about five minutes, he was back on his feet again. _"Okay, Midnight, I got to get back. See you tomorrow!"_ I said as patted his head and left the cove.

Then I got home, and I had dinner; bread and hot herb soup. Once I had finished eating, I got out my sewing tools, sat down on the chair, and fixed the rip in my vest. Then I got the idea to make vest to wear while I fly on Midnight. It will help me stay in the saddle and protect me from most injuries. I was too tired to work on the saddle, so I'll do that tomorrow night.

I put my vest back down and decided to take a bath. Since Viking Training and meeting Midnight, I haven't taken a bath in days. I normally take a bath about every three days. I filled a wooden tub with water on top of a metal risen platform in the small room. I gathered some logs to under the platform and got a fire started. Once the temperature was comfortable enough, I removed my clothes and got in the water.

It was really relaxing. I poured some small bottle of herbal lotions and washes on my body. These help keep my skin and hair clean and healthy, my grandmother made them for the villagers, mostly for the women. When I was done, I dried myself off and put my nightgown on and went to bed with the locket all wind up. While listening to the melody, I drifted off to sleep and I was certain that I was going to have another vision.

Sure enough, I had another nightmare. I splashed my face with water again, changed into my normal clothes for the day. I put on my wig since I had lessons today as well. I made myself a small breakfast and went to the Training Grounds.

We did the same thing as yesterday; it was a little easier to do this time. Then came Dragon Training. We were facing the Nadder again. The Nadder started to charge at us immediately when the gates to her cage were opened. Asgerd at once threw his ax at the creature, which it reflected right away. Asgerd cart-wheeled to my left to get his ax back, leaving me with the dragon yet again.

I tried something out of instinct; I dropped my weapon and calmly stood in the Nadder's blind spot, which was of course, the front of the nose. The Nadder seemed confused about the action, but she seemed to calm down. Then Asgerd yelled, ready to swing his ax at the creature's neck. I remembered what happened to Midnight yesterday and decided to try on the Nadder, for her sake. Asgerd will chop the poor thing's neck for sure. I scratched the left side of her neck; it relaxed her as she got a smile full of pleasure on her face. I then scratched under her chin and she collapsed on the spot. Asgerd stopped just before he was about to swing his ax and had a really perplexed look on his face.

I was about to leave the ring, then the guys, except for Asgerd, who just glare at me. One guess, he's jealous. _"That was amazing!"_ Snotlout exclaimed. Funny I thought he would be just as jealous as Asgerd or even more. _"Um I need to do some errands, so I'll see you later." _I said. Before anyone could ask any more questions about what happened, I left the ring. Ruffnut was used to the old Training Area now, so she can handle it on her own. I was getting inventor's block today, so I just decided to just hang in the cove with Midnight and relax. Maybe I can think of an idea later.

I was pretty tired after that long day, so I just sat down on the ground in a really sunny spot. I was feeling a little sleepy; I couldn't keep my eyes open. I almost fell backward, and then I felt some warm, soft, strong hide from behind me. I looked to my right and saw Midnight. He must have wanted me to be more comfortable. "Thanks Midnight" I said. I relaxed against his skin and he laid his left wing over my body covering everything, but my head.

I sleep very well with him. I think when I slept when I was tending his wounds, I didn't have that awful dream at all. I didn't feel any cold at all underneath his wing. I was so peaceful; I didn't notice a ray of sunlight reflect off of my locket. Midnight, who was also napping with me, saw the speck of light and ran towards it. I fell on my back waking up with a jolt. _"What the…?"_ I said sitting up.

I saw Midnight going left and right trying to claw at something. Then I saw the speck of light on Midnight's right paw. Where is that light coming from? I looked down and saw that the light was bouncing off of my locket. That gave me an idea. I took my locket in my hands and angled the surface in various directions. Midnight was following everywhere it went. He was acting like a cat.

I tried not to laugh, but it was too funny and cute. It started out as a chuckle, but it ended up as a loud laugh. Midnight saw me laughing and realized what was happening. He growled at me and I froze. _"I'm sorry Midnight, I couldn't help myself."_ I tried to explain. When he pounce me and started to lick me. It really tickled. I guess this was his way of revenge for that trick. _"Okay, okay, boy. I won't do it again."_ I said between laughs. I was able to push him off of me somehow.

It was getting late and I was getting hungry. I patted Midnight on the head and left the cove. I put my wig on; I don't think anyone would want to see plain old Thora, well except Ruff, maybe. With that, I ran towards the village.

When I got to the village, I was too tired to make dinner, so I went to the Great Hall. I sat down at an empty table and all of a sudden people started to come to my table, sit next to me, and ask me a bunch of questions. I saw Asgerd slammed his mug on the table. He had some food on his clothes. I guess that either he was a slob with eating like my cousin, or maybe some of the others accidently pushed some plates aside as they were coming towards me. I felt kind of bad for him, even if he is a jerk.

When I was done, I went home, gathered some leather material for me to create a flight vest. I attached the belt with the cords to the bottom, put a lacing back, made a criss-crossing pattern in the front with an old plain golden medallion in the middle. I also added shoulder pads to prevent any more injuries like yesterday.

I also made some more adjustments on my saddle. I added a small metal pedal on the part where a left stirrup was supposed to be and a front girth with the same kind of medal like on my flight vest. The last crash landing this morning was better than before, because I controlled the fin with my foot. Like a horse received the cues to steer from the rider from the pressure from the feet on one side. I connected the rope on it to connect the fin tomorrow. Once I was done, I took a quick bath and went to bed.

In the morning, I woke up to yet another nightmare. I had my breakfast, got into character, and left for Training. Today is supposed to be a short day since it's a review of what we have learned so far. This time, we were put up against some of the men that were left behind in the village. The more experienced men. This is not going to be good. According to Gobber, the student with the highest ranking in the class will be the leader for the day. So far, that was me.

It was a little difficult to handle with all of us together. I don't know how to handle them all. Snotlout kept showing off to the girls watching. _"Snotlout, get your head in the game!" _I yelled as I pulled him back into the action.

Fishlegs was still nervous with whole thing and kept talking about random information about this and that. _"Calm down Fishlegs."_ I said. _"I'm sorry Leif, when I'm nervous, I babble."_ he said. _"Well maybe we can use that babbling for something."_ I encouraged. _"What do you mean?"_ he said. _"Well remember yesterday, you observed the weaknesses of the head men in the boats. You can observe both the strengths and weaknesses of these men and tell us what they are. But please put in simple English for all of us."_ I said. _"Got it, good idea."_ Fishlegs relied.

Tuffnut was looking a little anxious. _"Are you okay Tuffnut?"_ I asked. _"Do I look like I'm okay?" _he snapped. _"I was only asking."_ I stated. _"Sorry. I'm just not good with far away targets."_ he confessed. _"How about I give you some pointers if you want?"_ I asked. _"Well I really need the help."_ he said. _"Fishlegs is going to give us some information and I'll come up with a plan and I'll help to aim."_ I said. _"Okay."_ Tuffnut said.

Asgerd was about to take the men on by himself. _"Where do you think you're going?"_ I asked. _"I'm going to show these men how it's done."_ he answered. _"Not by yourself you're not."_ I stated impatiently, having enough of his attitude as I dragged him back into formation.

"_Alright boys, get ready."_ Gobber said, _"Go!"_ the men started to circle around us. _"Okay everyone will just dodge their blows as much as possible while we keep Fishlegs in the middle of us…"_ I started to say. _"Why should we do that? It's just a waste of time."_ Asgerd said. _"It's so we can Fishlegs time to find the weaknesses and strengths of the men. And when we can come up with a plan and then we can fight back."_ I explained.

We ducked, jumped, and maneuvered as we kept Fishlegs in the center of us as he worked on his analysis. _"Fishlegs, have you got anything?"_ I asked. Fishlegs gave us his results and we gave those men a run for their money when they ran out of breath. _"Good job everyone." _Gobber said, _"Now get to the Dragon Ring. We got a new dragon to face today."_

There was a lot more people was than normal to watch us today. We all put our guards up and prepared to fight the dragon. _"Meet the Terrible Terror."_ Gobber said as he pulled the lever. The log barricade was lifted, but only a small flipping door opened. Out of it came a small light green dragon with two small horns and large yellow eyes. It had dull scales, meaning it was a female. _"Aw she's so cute."_ I said. _"Don't say that like she's a kitten! You sound like a girl."_ Asgerd said. I quickly pulled myself together, before he catches on.

"_Look at that thing, it's the size of my…"_ Tuffnut started to say. I don't even want to don't what the Terror was the size of. And I never found out, because in an instant the Terror landed on top of him and was biting and scratching on him like a cat's scratching post. _**"OH! GET IT OFF!"**_ Tuffnut screamed. _"Oh great, my brother's being used as a chew toy." _Ruff said rubbing her face in disbelief.

The Terror was chewing on Tuffnut's nose. I quickly looked up and saw that the sun was shining brightly. I got into a very sunny spot and pulled out my shield. I made sure the light was bouncing off the metal part of the middle of the shield, using it as a mirror. I found the speck of sun on the ground near Tuffnut and guided it to the Terror's face. The little dragon saw it and followed it around as she got off of Tuffnut.

"_Oh I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!"_ Tuffnut said as he holding his bleeding nose and was rolling away from the dragon as she follow the tiny light as I guided it towards the small door. Didn't he say the same thing when we were facing the Hideous Zippleback? _"Wow, he's even better than you were."_ Tuffnut referred to Asgerd as he straightened himself up and continued to hold his nose. Asgerd shot him a glare and positioned himself to hit Tuffnut with his ax. Immediately, Tuffnut pulled his helmet tighter on his head to prevent further injury. Asgerd backed off as he looked at me with jealously as I closed the door to the Terror's cage after she went back in.

Once things were wrapped up, I ran out of the ring as Ruff say thank you for saving her brother. I went to my house and got my new flight vest, food, and the improved saddle. I put my hair in its usual style and put the wig in my cloak. When I saw no one was looking, I carried my things in my arms and went to the cove.

I was walking through the forest, making random turns along the paths to confuse any followers. Then I heard grunting and clipping of some kind. I looked behind a boulder and saw Asgerd throwing his ax at a tree. I guess he's really streamed about what happened yesterday. I just tried to tip-toe to the other boulder. Then Asgerd did a somersault towards me and was about to throw his ax at another tree. But he stopped in his tracks when saw me. I froze in place holding the equipment.

I shook myself out of it and ran into the woods for cover. Asgerd was following right behind me. I hid my stuff in a log, making sure it was well hidden. I climbed up a tree and stayed quiet as I hid. _"Was that the chief's daughter?"_ Asgerd asked himself as he looked around, _"What's she doing here?"_ then he just shrugged, shook his head, and returned to training himself.

I got to the cove and Midnight licked me until I was on the ground. Once he was finished, I gave him his dinner, put his new and improved saddle on, and made the adjustments. I think I should test the positions of the fin to see how it works. Like how it turns and straightens out. But how?

I felt a strong yet firm breeze above me. Maybe I can use the wind to guide lowly on the ground so I test the positions. I knew a cliff that has a strong wind and has a sturdy stump on the edge. I could use that to try a rope to and glide over the ground in place as I test the positions. _"Come on, Midnight, we're going to do some tests."_ I said as I tightened the straps on the saddle.

I put my flight vest on, got on Midnight, fastened myself to the saddle, and we jumped out of the cove. We landed on the edge of the cove and I guided him to the cliff. Once there, I tied the rope to the front girth and the stump. Then I got on Midnight and got to work.

Things were going smoothly, after I tested each one, I put a sketch of the fin's position and direction it creates on a small piece of parchment I brought from my house. I was testing another position when a very strong gust of wind came along and broke the rope that connected the saddle to the stump. It send us flying across a small plain and into the forest.

We were flipped over; Midnight was lying on his left side and I was flat on my face. When we tried to get up, Midnight got up first and I was lifted up by my rear. _"Whoa hey!"_ I said. Then I straightened myself up. Well the safety line worked. I went to unhook myself, but I saw that the hook on the saddle was jammed over the loop on the safety line. _"Oh great."_ I said.

This is really not good, all of the tools I need for this task are in the blacksmith's shop in the _**village**_. Being stuck together I don't have a choice, I have to take Midnight with me to the village. Luckily, it was getting dark, so Midnight can have some cover while I sneak Midnight in. _"Come on Midnight, follow me and please be quiet."_ I instructed him. I was so pre-occupied with Midnight that I had forgotten my cloak at the cove and so I didn't have my wig on.

When we got to the outskirts of the village, I made sure it was dark enough and that absolutely no one was looking. If anyone saw me with Midnight, it would immediate banishment. Once I was sure that the coast was clear, I guided Midnight between the houses and any place large enough to hide him. Thankfully he's as dark as night, gives him camouflage.

One time, a sentry was passing by with a torch. I hid Midnight in between two houses and hid my lower half behind a barrel to hide my pants. I didn't want them to discover my secret identity and my friend. _"Thora."_ the sentry said while bowing his head to me as I wave back acting causal. Being the chief's daughter did get me some respect, but not much. That guy probably would respect Leif more than me, because a talent boy in the classes and I'm just a girl. After the coast was clear, we walked out of the darkness. Midnight almost went in the direction of the sentry, but I prevented it.

We managed to get in the shop without detection. Then Midnight put a bucket on his snout and threw it across the room causing a loud crash _"Shhh! Be quiet!"_ I said in a firm hushed tone. I got a pry bar and got to work on the hook in the saddle. _"Hey Leif, are you in there?"_ I heard a familiar male voice said Oh no! Asgerd's outside! I put on my apron to cover my pants and riding gear, and jumped through the door windows and closed them immediately to hide Midnight.

_"Oh! Hello there."_ I said causally. _"Oh sorry!"_ Asgerd apologized, _"I thought you were Leif Anderson." _Then he looked at me hard. _"You wouldn't happen to be related to him would you? You look a little like him." _he asked. _"No, I'm not related to him in any way. In fact, I never met him."_ I said nervously while avoiding eye contract. I need to get him out of here fast before he discovers Midnight.

_"Hey, aren't you the chief's daughter, Thora?"_ Asgerd asked. _"Yeah."_ I said. _"Well it's nice to finally meet you officially. I'm Asgerd Hofferson."_ he said. _"Likewise."_ I said as Midnight started to tug on the rope. I noticed that there was a sheep a couple feet to my right. I recognized him, it was Phil, Gobber's Pet. Midnight must be getting hungry when he saw him.

_"Hardly see you in the village. Seems the only times you are seen is when you're working here, helping the elder, or in trouble."_ Asgerd said. I glare at him while I tried to keep the doors in place. _"No offense."_ he added. This guy puts his foot in his mouth more than Snotlout. _"Yeah, my father is a little overprotective of me." _I explained.

_"What were you doing in the forest this afternoon?"_ Asgerd asked. _"I was well…"_ I started to say. _"I normally don't pay attention to other people's business, but you being the chief's daughter and in the forest no less is a little weird."_ he said with a suspicious look in his eyes. My back was up against the wall this time. How am I going to get out of this one? My answer came when I was suddenly lifted into the air against the door windows. _"Actually, that's much weirder."_ Asgerd stated wide eyed.

Then I was pulled through the doors and landed on Midnight's back. I quickly pulled myself together and got Midnight out of the shop. _"Thora, are you alright?"_ Asgerd said as he opened the windows, seeing nothing inside. He just shrugged his shoulders confused and left in the direction he was previously heading before we interrupted him.

Midnight was chasing Phil on the edge of the village. After a struggle, I managed to get Midnight to calm down. I lead him to the cove, and fixed the jam on the hook. After that, I came back home.

About three weeks passed, and just one of the ships that went to find the Dragon's Nest. It was Stoick's ship. The ship was pretty beat up and almost beyond repair. Papa and the rest of the men that survived the journey got on the docks with their belongings, and walks towards the village with disappointment on their faces. Papa's face was the grimmest.

_"I trust you have found the nest at least."_ Gobber said greeting his friend. _"Not even close."_ Stoick said gloomily as he carried his basket underneath his arm to the village, _"I hope you had more success than me."_ Stoick said. _"Well by success, you mean that your parenting troubles are over with, then yes."_ Gobber said as he took his basket underneath his paddle arm for him.

"_What do you mean?"_ the chief asked. _"Well it's turned out that Thora is more like you than we fought." _Gobber stated. _"Thora? Are we talking about the same girl?"_ Stoick asked. _"Well, she is quite clever, flexible, and quite talented. She can out-maneuver her opponents; she's an ace shooter, a resourceful navigator, a born swordsman (swordswoman), and leader."_ Gobber said, _"And you would have thought she have such a way with the beasts. Even after the rocky start she had on the first two days. She's probably better than you when you were her age." _Stoick was surprised; his girl was becoming such a success in such a short time. Seems that Thora has won the deal.


	18. Chapter 18 – I Feel Free to be Me

_**Please keep an open mind while you read this fanfiction. Give lots of reviews and comment what you like about this chapter.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 18 – I Feel Free to be Me**_

I got up early and was heading towards the cove with the finished saddle and flight vest, and a basket fill of all the fish I could get in. we are going to fly for real today. We have been working on our flying for weeks and I think me and Midnight are ready for the real thing.

I got to the cove and gave Midnight his breakfast. After he finished his breakfast, I saddled him up, put my flight vest, and got on him. I was wearing my usual hairstyle, but the loose parts of the hair, were braided over the braid at the back of my head that was holding the front parts of the hair back to give a tighter look, so my hair won't get tangled very easily.

"_This is it boy, are you ready to be flying again." _I asked. He grunted excitedly and nodded his head. _"Alright,"_ I said as I back him up to the wall and attached the cheat sheet I made the other day to the front of the saddle for reference, _"Let's do this!"_ I added as we took up speed. With that, we got in the air and were over the ocean.

It was a little nerve-racking at first, but once I steadied Midnight it was really incredible. We were flying straight over the ocean, at least a hundred feet in the air. The wind in my face was amazing, blowing my bangs out of my face. I just have to work on the turns and we're set.

_"Alright buddy, we're going to take it nice and slow. Here we go!"_ I said as I look at the cheat sheet, _"Okay, Position three, actually that's Position Four."_ After that I put the foot in the proper position, which made the artificial fin spread out wider. Midnight looked back at his fin to see his tail and then look back to the front of him.

I turned Midnight to the left; we made a complete circle as we were flying almost sideways. Then we headed straight heading towards some large rock formations. I looked back to the artificial tailfin, checking to see if everything was in order. _"Okay it's time to really get going."_ I said to myself as I leaned forward and Midnight followed my lead.

We were heading towards the ocean at a graceful swoop. Just as we were about to hit the ocean's waves, we pulled up until we were parallel to the water surface. _"Come on Midnight! Come on Midnight!"_ I said as his dark blue left wing skidded across the surface of water below us as he leaned to the left a bit, splashing a bit of water on my body.

Midnight looked up a bit and I followed his glance. We were going a large stone arc that was probably hundred feet high. Seagulls were flying high above almost near the ceiling in the opposite direction. Then we were going faster, this is getting more and more amazing by the minute. _"Yes! It's working!"_ I exclaimed as we went even faster going forward, looking back to see if everything was in order. Night Furies must be the fastest dragons in the world, which is fine by me, because I love going fast.

We must have been going too fast, because we hit a tall rock pillar to the left of us. _"Sorry!"_ I called. Then we hit yet another rock pillar to the right this time. _"That was my fault!" _I apologized again. That must have pulled a straw for Midnight, because after he recovered from the impact from those pillars, he hit me with his top right ear appendage on my right cheek. _"Ouch! Okay! Okay I'll be careful! Alright, now for Position Four, I mean Three."_ I said as I got my foot into the correct position and leaned back in the saddle, making Midnight go up and climb towards the sky.

_"Yeah! Go boy!"_ I yelled in excitement as Midnight stuck out his tongue on the left side of his face as we climbed higher and higher into the sky. I can't believe this feeling, we were going beyond the sky, and for the first time in my life, no one's telling what to do, how to act, where to be, or who to be. True I was having Midnight to fly for me, but I was pretty much borrowing his freedom. At last, one of my important dreams have come true, I feel completely free to be me. And I like…no love who I am.

_"This is so amazing! The wind in my…"_ I started to say. Then suddenly the cheat sheet got loose. _**"CHEAT SHEET! STTOOOPPPP!"**_ I screamed as I managed to get the sheet before it blew away. Midnight complied my plead and stop immediately in mid-air. He stopped so hard, the safety line loop got out of the hook on the saddle and I was hover in the air above Midnight. We got a look at each other confused, wondering why we were staring at one another. We got our answer soon enough, for we were falling down to the ground fast, both of us screaming (Or in Midnight's case, Roaring) for dear life.

_**"OH NO! OH MY GOSH! OH NO!"**_ I screamed at the top of my lungs as I tried to reach towards Midnight, but I only managed to slight touch his left wing as I got much further down than Midnight. Midnight roared at me, concerned for my safety. Even a dragon like him must know that a human can't survive a fall from this altitude. A dragon maybe, a human definitely not.

I tried to calm myself down as much as I could and thought about what I should do. _**"YOU NEED TO ANGLE YOURSELF!" **_I yelled to him. He complied with what I said and started to try to straighten him in the air as he was moving away from me. I was starting to panic even more. _**"NO! COME BACK DOWN TOWARDS ME! COME BACK DOWN…! OW!"**_ I said as Midnight hit me on my left cheek with one of his wings. Midnight grunted an apology as I hold my cheek with my hand. I just gave him a slight smile; I knew it wasn't his fault. At least he came towards me didn't he?

I put my cheat sheet in my mouth to allow my hands more freedom to hold on to the saddle. It took a bit of struggling, but I managed to pull myself back into the saddle. I fastened myself; put my feet in the stirrups, and leaned back hard as I screamed with a full mouth. This signaled Midnight to spread his wings and slow us down. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough and Midnight was screeching almost as if he was screaming.

I got the cheat sheet out of my mouth and examined the drawings. But the wind was blowing the half I wasn't holding onto, flapping in and out. The rocks were getting closer by the minute. I kept looking back and forth between the paper and the rocks, trying to decide what to do. _"Oh forget it! __**GO BEYOND THE SKY, MIDNIGHT!"**_ I yelled as I tossed away the cheat sheet, which Midnight recollected himself and go faster as we headed into the complicated maze of the rock formations.

It was unbelievable; we were flying as if we were one and the same. It was almost as if we can read each others' thought and do the things we wanted to do in the air without telling each other. We went left and right, spin in the air, and navigated the rocks with no problem. It was just like the Dragon's Storm sword. As two separate beings, we are vulnerable. But together, we are undefeatable. Before he can say 'the Gates to Asgard', we were out of the labyrinth of stone as the first team of a human and a dragon. That makes us the first dragon rider and dragon steed in history.

I couldn't believe what we did that. _**"YEESSS!"**_ I yelled at the top of my lungs with excitement as I hit my fists in the air. Midnight must have been equally excited, because he shot a blue fiery blast from his mouth and it exploded into a red blazing cloud as he stuck his tongue out on the side. "Oh come on!" I said getting worried as we got closer to the cloud. Then I started to panic as I lowered against Midnight's body to prevent more damage to my body.

_**"WAIT MIDNIGHT! HUMANS AREN"T FIREPROOF LIKE DRAGONS!"**_ I yelled frantically. At the last minute, he went below the fire cloud. Luckily, the fire only grazed me at the top of my head and body, so no permanent damage was done. We drove into the water to protect ourselves from further damage from the flames. Fortunately, I took a deep breath and hold it in just before we went under water.

We resurfaced a short time later. My long hair had gotten loose; the water made my usually auburn hair looked like a very dark shade of brown that almost looked black. We just swam for a little bit. _"Come on, Midnight. Let's go!"_ I said urging him to fly into the sky. But for some reason, he couldn't get into the air. Perhaps he needs to push himself off a flat platform of some kind to get into the air. And we are in the ocean and the ground is probably hundreds of miles below us. I guess we are swimming back. We got a long way to go.

I guess we didn't have to after all. I saw a small island in the distance. It was about twenty feet to the right of us. _"Hey Midnight, we can rest there for awhile. We can even try to get some fish for our dinner today. How does that sound?"_ I said. Midnight nodded his head in excitement. _"Alright let's go!"_ I said. With that, we swam over to the island.

Once we pulled ourselves onto the shore, I looked around the beach; the ground was covered with cracked flat rocks that seem to form a floor. I got up on my feet to try to find wood for a fire, so we can dry ourselves off. I saw strange stone structures that almost looked like building blocks that the Romans used. There must have been a civilization here once. Then I saw lush green about ten feet in front of me. I ran closer to the green and saw herbs, flowers, and plants of all kinds. They were thousand times healthier than the plants on Berk, except in the cove. _"How did the plants get so healthy?"_ I asked myself.

I noticed something grayish and grainy on the ground around the plants' stem. I picked up some and smelled a smoky smell. This stuff is ash. Grandma said that in areas where volcanoes, the ashes from there can serve as a fertilizer for the plants. But I don't see any possible volcanoes on this island. Then I smelled something else in the ash. It was similar to a dragon's fire breath. It was similar to the dirt in the cove. Is it possible that the ashes from a dragon's fire can serve as a fertilizer for plants? And a very potent fertilizer at that. Come to think about it, I might have seen some Terrors in the cove. They must be responsible for the lush plants there.

I walked back to Midnight, hoping to dry off. Luckily, Midnight gathered a bunch of wood and lit it up as well as a large pile of fish for us. Great minds think alike. I could use a fire anyway. Midnight's left wing was flapping in my direction, probably trying to get me dry. _"Thanks."_ I said.

If I would have known, I would have brought a change of clothes or the cloak. Maybe I can make a basket on the side of the saddle to carry things and is easy for Midnight to carry along with me next time. And there's a special tar that can close the gaps between the baskets, so water can't get in there, so they can't get wet.

Once I was nearly dry, I sat next to Midnight's left side. It was really cold, especially in this frigid weather. Thank goodness that Midnight's scaly skin is really warm. "What are you eating pal?" I asked as I noticed that he was chewing some strange rocks with the fish in his mouth. I took one of the mysterious objects and examined it. It was a blue crystal; I think it was an azure crystal. Grandma showed me some once. They are precious minerals that can increase the energy of one who consumes it. Perhaps Midnight was eating this for the same reason to make him strong.

I found a long stick with a sharp end and put a medium sized cod on. I held it over the fire to cook it. I don't normally eat meat (Mostly red meat), but fish are alright for me. As the fish continued to cook, I heard a gagging sound from Midnight. Is this what I think this is? I turned my head to my right and sure enough, Midnight was spitting out a fish head with a few bones sticking out. _"No thanks I'm good. But thanks anyway sweetie."_ I reassured turning back to the fish over the fire.

Then I heard familiar screeching sounds. Midnight shook his head towards the source of the sound. I looked in his direction and saw a group of Terrible Terrors. They were one yellow, one red, and two green (One dark and one light). The smallest one was light green and had shiny scales, meaning it was male like the others. They landed on the ground scurrying towards us. They probably want the fish we have.

I was getting pretty nervous; those little critters are tougher than they look. I scooted closer to Midnight out of caution; hopefully he can take them on. Midnight wrapped his tail around my waist for comfort and reassurance as he put his left paw over his food as he was growling a warning growl.

The Terrors scurried closer to us as we tensed up a bit. The red one was about to get a bit of Midnight's fish, but Midnight growled menacingly to make the smaller dragon back off. Then the dark green one took the fish that was meant for me. He took a few nibbles and cocked his head to the right. The red one tried to get the fish head, but the one who took it defended his meal. It puffed up its chest and blew a stream of fire at him, making him run for it. I found it kind of cute as I laughed a little bit. Midnight didn't seem amuse at all.

Suddenly, one of the fish from underneath the pile stood up straight with the head bend down to the right. _"What the…?"_ I asked as I started to get into a crouching position as Midnight was looking curiously at the fish. It turns out that the smallest one was trying to take Midnight's fish. But Midnight grabbed the fish and soon there was a game of tug of war between the tiny Terror and the noble Night Fury. It was oblivious who the winner was from the beginning.

The terror made a surprised dazed face as he only got a small piece of the fish's tail. Midnight swallowed the rest of the fish and made a sound that was like a mix between a dolphin and a human laugh. _"Midnight don't laugh!" _I scolded. Midnight just whimpered apologetically.

The little Terror spit out the little piece of the fishtail and started to growl menacingly. He kind of reminds me of a little dog. I scooted closer to Midnight in case he decided to attack. Midnight just narrowed his eyes in annoyance. The Terror clawed the ground a few times, reared up, hissed a little, and started to prepare to breathe fire. Fortunately, Midnight shot a small fireball into the little dragon's mouth. The little dragon's body puffed up in the air, and landed on the ground flat on his face.

When the small dragon recovered, he staggered around dizzily. _"Oh you poor thing,"_ I said sweetly, _"I guess you guys are not so fireproof on the inside huh? Here you are you can have this one."_ I said as tossed a fish to him. The little dragon got excited as he began to eat the fish whole. His ribs were showing pretty bad; guess the others didn't let him have a lot of food. I guess he's the runt of the litter. I know how that feels. _"You're pretty sweet; I think I'll call you, Terry."_ I told him as he swallowed the whole fish.

I sat down next to Midnight; Terry came up to me with curious eyes and a cocked head. Then suddenly Terry came next to my left side and nuzzled against my hand. I automatically lifted my hand and Terry rub against my side and went to sleep, purring lightly. And I stroked the little things' side.

As I gently touched the little dragon, I thought about how the dragons have acted in my point of view over the last few weeks. The dragons in the Training ring had only attacked out of defense and acted tame when I didn't mean them harm. These little Terrors here are treating me as their guest. And Midnight treats me as his younger sister or maybe a daughter. Much more of a father figure than Papa and Gobber put together anyway.

"_You guys are really gentle creatures."_ I said as I realized the truth with a huge hole of guilt and shamefulness as I patted Terry's scaly back. These creatures don't want to fight and they only do it if necessary. Like we do. They are no different from us in a way. My people have been killing innocent creatures for over three hundred years. When all along… _"Everything we know about you guys…is wrong." _I said.


	19. Chapter 19Is it really worth it?

_**I'm really sorry for the long wait. I have been extremely busy with my college online Anthropology and Plant Biology classes, and my on-campus Digital Photography classes. I needed to put my schoolwork in front of my fanfiction work. I thank for your patience and I hope you will enjoy this new chapter.**_

_**Please keep an open mind while you read this fanfiction. Give lots of reviews and comment what you like about this chapter.**_

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review what you of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**Merry Christmas and a happy new year!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 19 – Is this really worth it?**_

After a while of thinking, I got back on Midnight and we headed back to Berk. It was really hard to focus on flying with all the questions about the truth of dragons were in my head. But we managed to get to Berk somehow. I said my goodbye to Midnight for the day and started on my way back to the village. In my hurry to get to the village, I forgot to put the log on the hole to cover it up.

Before entering the village, I changed into my Leif disguise. When I got into the village I noticed the atmosphere is happier. I wonder why the village is so excited. It could be because of the elimination tests tomorrow between me and Asgerd. And does the village seem fuller than usual. Either way, I'm not looking forward to it.

Before I turn in, I should get started on the basket to keep the supplies dry. I went to the blacksmith shop and into my private room and changed back into my skirt and normal hair style. The basket should probably be about as tall as my calves. I gathered the weaving materials and got started on the base. Pretty soon, the sides were forming and the basket was complete. I put the tar to prevent the materials in the basket from getting wet. Then I put the basket aside to get dry.

While I waited for the tar to dry, I started to draw pictures of Midnight and even of my new Dragon Friend, Terry the Terror. After a few drawings, I rested my head on my desk and played with my pencil. At one point, my pencil rolled off the path of my fingers, but I put back on top and rolled it along the slope of the desk.

Then I heard someone come into my room. It must be Gobber checking up on me. Probably making sure I wasn't staying here too late. _"Sorry Gobber, I'll be done here as soon as my basket is…"_ I began to say. But it was not Gobber at all at the small door to this little room, it was actually someone who has been long for a while now and did not suspect to be back so soon.

"_Father, you're back!"_ I said as surprise and stood straight. Alarm took over my body as I realized that the drawings were all over the desk. _"Um Gobber's not here, so…"_ I said, distracting him as I was pulling all of the pictures in my book, hoping he wouldn't see. _"I know I've been looking for you."_ he said as he finally managed to squeeze through the door that seemed too small for him to get in. _"You were?"_ I asked, tensing up as I didn't like where this was going.

"_You have been keeping secrets." he said. "I…I….I have?"_ I asked, trying to keep a firm grip on the situation. But I have a thick sickening feeling in the pit of stomach. _"Just how long did you intend to keep it from me?"_ he said narrowing his eyes. _"I don't know what you are talking about."_ I said with a cooler head this time. _"Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it."_ he stated. _"Really?"_ I said getting really nervous. _"So…"_ he said, _"Let's talk about that dragon."_ He demanded.

Oh no! He must have found out about Midnight somehow. _"Oh… Father I'm so sorry. I probably should have told you, I just didn't know how to…"_ I started to babble out. Then all of a sudden he started to laugh loud for some reason. What's going on, one minute he was all seriously and the next he's acting like he was just joking. I try to rid some nervousness, I weakly laughed along with him.

"_So, you're not upset?"_ I asked_. "What? I was hoping for this."_ He said excitedly. _"You were?"_ I asked confused, not sure that we were on the same topic, which was usual. _"And believe me, it only gets better. Just wait until you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time, and mount your first Gronkle head on a spear."_ he said remembering his first times. Just thinking about those kinds of things made me sick to my stomach. I guess I'm a pacifist deep down. _"What a feeling!"_ he said as he pushed me playfully into the new basket I just made. Luckily, the tar was dry, or else I would have been stuck.

"_You really had me going, Thora! All those years of thinking you were unable to be a warrior. Odin! It was rough! I had almost given up on you, I admit it. But this whole time you were more like me than I had realized. O' Thor almighty! It is a good thing that your mother named you after him! She always said that you were destined for great things one of these days." _he said. I was taken back for a bit, that was the first time he mentioned Mama in a long time. We haven't talked about her since she died.

Then he sat down in the extra stool in the room. _"With you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about."_ he said. However, we just sat there waiting for each other to make the first word, he even scooted closer to me with a bright smile on his face. A smile I have not seen since I was a little girl. What am I going to do now?

"_Oh, I got to something to keep you safe in the ring."_ Papa said as he handed me a Viking helmet and he fixed a horn into its original position. _"Wow thanks."_ I said not knowing what to say or how to feel about this. _"My father would be proud that you are wearing this, it is made from part of his chest armor."_ he said. _"What…?"_ I breathed a bit with a cringe. This is made from armor near one of a man's personal areas. Awkward…!

"_Matching set."_ he said as he tap his own helmet, _"Wear it proudly, you hold up your end of the deal. You deserve it."_ he said proudly. _"Thanks Pa…Father."_ I said with a hole of guilt. This should be a great time to finally call him _'Papa'_ again like when Mama was alive, but I'm deceiving him, so I don't deserve to call him that.

"_Yeah…"_ I said as I put down the helmet on my desk and I faked a long loud yawn. _"I should really get to bed."_ I said. _"Okay, good talk."_ Papa said. _"Thanks for the helmet."_ I said. Then things were quiet again. _"Well… good night."_ he said as he left the shop.

I heard a crash from outside, Papa must have knock over some things in the shop again. He usually does that. A giant man like him always seems to create a mess, believe me I know I normally clean up after him. I guess I get a bit of my clumsy side from him in a way.

After he left, tears of guilt and disappointment started to fall out of my eyes. What I was doing out of curiously, I also advanced in the rankings. Now I have to probably kill a dragon to fulfill my dream or betray my village to do the right thing. And Papa finally is starting to see that I can be a warrior to. And is finally seeing me not as a failure and an embarssassment, but as his daughter. What am I going to do?

After I was dry of tears, I went outside and saw the aurora in the sky. They say that the spirits of Valhalla are up there, meaning Mama is up there as well. _"Oh Mama… I have always known what I wanted, but now I have to choose between my dream and the right thing to do. What should I do? Please tell me."_ I said to the sky, hoping Mama would hear. If there was ever a time for her advice it would be now.

I went to my house and went inside. I hear loud snoring all the way to the top floor of the house. It must be Papa. I went quietly to my room and got into bed.

The next morning, I woke up in a heavy sweat. This time the dream was about hearing voices saying that I failed and I don't belong anywhere. One of the voices was Papa and it sounded so real.

I better get to the Training Grounds, the final alimentations are today. We are going through the axes and hammers, archery, seamanship, catapults, swordsmanship, and the part I'm not looking forward to the most, Dragon Slaying. I should probably fake failures to get out of the tests and avoid this altogether. But Papa going to be there as part of his duties as chief of the tribe and he'll be so disappointed in me again, probably even more than before. I can't go through that again ever.

I got into my Leif Anderson disguise and put on my new helmet and went downstairs. I didn't see Papa anywhere, I guess he went ahead to observe the tests. Which is alright, I'm used to it and I really didn't want to talk to him at all. I wasn't in the mood for breakfast, so I just went out the door. Maybe if I'm lucky, the lack of food in my stomach will affect my performances during the tests.

A bunch of people came up to me and wished me luck on the tests. I said thank you and continued to walk to the arena. Even Ruffnut told me to 'break a leg', but not literally. She also bet her brother will ace the archery test since most of the targets will be moving and he's good with that.

"_Leif there you are!"_ Gobber said patting me on the back, _"This is it, get chosen, and you're a full fledged warriors." _But is it really worth it? I thought to myself. I sighed and went to join the others in the line up.

Asgerd didn't look please to see me at all. He had a very determined look on his face. I suppose with me gaining enough points to catch up with him and him wanting that so called _'honor'_ of killing the Monstrous Nightmare. Well he can have it for all I care. But still an innocent creature will be killed and Papa will be so disappointed. This is a serious pickle I'm in. however, I'll do my best on the other tests, but I'll try to fail the Dragon Test, if I can.

The first test was the Axes and hammers test. For this test, fifteen of the best Ax and Hammer users in the whole village volunteered to test us five. When it started, all of us managed to dodge them. Sometime since the class started, Fishlegs has really improved, he's still a little nervous, but he's really good, especially with hammers. But what I'm really impressed with is his ability to spot weaknesses and other physical characteristics in his targets. Both Snotlout and Tuffnut really put all strength in their swings. But they still need to work on their composure in battle. I managed to outwit my opponents, while Asgerd viciously took down his opponents. I heard Papa say that he didn't outwit his opponent like that in his Ax/Hammer class in his training days

It might have been my imagination, but he was pretty close to striking his opponents for real. Just because we are being trained to fight, doesn't mean that we should strike them when they are not giving their all. I fear that I am to blame for it. But still he came in first.

The Archery test was tricky. The targets moving like crazy. After the test, the rankings for us came in, done by Grandma herself. Due to Fishlegs's trouble with aiming, he came in last so he was dropped from the rankings. Snotlout came in fourth; Tuffnut came in third, due to his talent for shooting near objects that are moving, just like Ruffnut said. It was close but me and Asgerd tied for first place on the Archery tests. _"Hmm… She's a much better marksman than I was when I was her age." _I heard Papa comment to Gobber with pride, which made me get sick knots in my stomach.

Then came the Seamanship test. each of us were put on an individual ship with four to five the most experienced sea farers for each of the four ships. We students were to be the captains of the ships. We are supposed to navigate around the whole island once, anyone who comes back in more than a one hour; they will be dropped from the rankings for the Dragon Slayings honor.

When the horn sounded, we took off between the two mile high protective Viking statues and turned to our rights to begin the single lap around the island. I knew a few of the surrounding obstacles from my adventures along the cliffs and flying with Midnight, even if it was only for one time last night. I even did some shortcuts. The men even help me with some tips for dealing with these rough waters. Most of the others rushed to finish the lap. The rocking waters made the ships turned left and right.

In the end, all of us pass before time was up. Funny, I thought Snotlout was going to fail with him being more brawn than brains and no sense of direction, not to mention he didn't listen to his crew's advice. Tuffnut was in third place. Asgerd's crew came in second with me coming in first. _"Leadership seems to run in her veins, but with her mother's cleverness." _Papa said proudly again. With was really making me nervous for the Dragon Test, which is definitely not good.

The Catapult test was with fast moving targets. The fastest ships were pulling along the targets. It was no surprise that Snotlout didn't make the rankings for the catapults; he only grazed three of targets. Tuffnut was a real whiz still with the moving targets; he even hit a few of the far away targets. Asgerd seemed to get more and more aggressive by the minute after each test.

For the swordsman test, the finest of the village's swordsmen surrounded us. All of us blocked their strikes. However, after awhile, Tuffnut was knocked out of the ring. Both me and Asgerd passed the test with flying colors. But the real test was the Dragon Test.

When we came down to the Dragon Slaying test it was just me and Asgerd and we were facing the Gronkle today. There were small barricades throughout the arena and when the Gronkle was released, we both hid behind random barricades getting ready to strike the dragon. I just stayed in the spot I was in, hoping Asgerd would just get the dragon.

Sometime when the Gronkle flew overhead of me, Asgerd sat himself next to me and he did not seem pleased to see me there. I scooted away from him, not liking his scowl at all. _"Stay out of my way kid, I'm winning this thing!"_ he said as he grabbed the front of my shirt. I tried to pull away, hoping he wouldn't see any… unmentionables as he got up to prepare to attack the dragon. _"Go ahead, be my guest, because I don't want it."_ I said in a pout as soon he was out of earshot. I stood up to just give up now. But I saw Papa looking proud. I tried to give him a brave pose with a confident smile, although I had bunches of butterflies in my stomach. I sulked in disgust of myself. I have no backbone with this thing.

As the Gronkle continued to hover around the arena, Asgerd rolled and dove around the floor to get from barricade to barricade. After he sat behind a barricade, prepare for his first strike. _"This time… this time for sure."_ he said to himself to motivate him. Then he yelled the tradition Viking yell and leapt over the barricade to strike the dragon with his ax. But he stopped right in his tracks with an unbelievable look on his face.

The Gronkle was going towards me and I was put off guard which made me drop my sword, shield, and helmet. But the dragon just lay out in front of me, acting like a dog that was ready to have its belly scratched. I guess she was expecting dragon-nip from me. Asgerd un-doubtfully looked angrier than ever. _**"NO!"**_ he screamed stomping his foot on the ground and swinging his ax around as the audience roared in excitement, _**"SON OF A HALF TROLL! RAT EATING SCUMBUCKET!"**_ there was no need to guess who he was referring to.

"_Wait! Wait!"_ Papa said calling to the audience to calm them down. I just failed at my attempted fail in this class. I need to get out of here before I'm chosen for the honor. _"Later."_ I said as I started to walk to the exit. _"Whoa! Not so fast!"_ Gobber said pulling me back. _"Look I have to…"_ I started to say, but Asgerd pressed the top of his ax to my throat in rage. _**"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO, EXACTLY?"**_ he said as his eye twitched a bit. I hope he's not going insane.

"_Okay quiet down, the elder is going to decide."_ Papa said as Grandma stepped forward. Both me and Asgerd stood in from of Gobber. Me with dread in my eyes, while Asgerd had a glimmer of hope that he might still win in his. Gobber had his missing hand over Asgerd's head to confirm if he's the winner.

I prayed to Grandma hoping she would approve. But alas, she shook her head in disapproval. Asgerd's world seemed to crumble down at that action. That could only mean… And sure enough, when Gobber had his good hand to point his finger at my head, she nodded her head with a bright smile. But while the crowd cheered, I writhed in despair. I choked, this was a chance to get out of this and I choked. Why Grandma?

"_Oh you did it! You did it! You'll get to slay the dragon!"_ Gobber yelled in excitement, putting his left arm around me, while Asgerd gave me a death look. In an instant, I was lifted onto Fishlegs's shoulder in a victory lap as the crowd got louder. _"That's my gir…great idea of what a Viking should be like."_ Papa said almost blowing my cover.

"_Yeah, great, I am so… not going to be part of this"_ I said under my breath. Once I was done with the victory lap, I left the arena and received congrats and good wishes for the slaying of the Nightmare. But I just went pass them with replying them. I definitely wanted to avoid Papa.

"_Hey Leif! (And by Leif, I mean Thora.) Great job today, you are going down in history!" _Ruffnut said after most the crowd that congratulated me dispersed a bit more. _"Thanks!"_ I said not looking at her. _"Hey, what's wrong? You don't seem very excited."_ She said concerned. _"I'm fine, I just have chosen the path I'm going to walk on and I'm sticking to it."_ I said continuing walking while not looking at her at all, my eyes fixed straight forward, leaving her perplexed.

I was sure for one thing, I did choose my path, I felt I never belong in Berk and now I know why. I thought things differently from the others; patient, observant, creativeness, idealism, and wiliness to understand before I make any final conclusions about someone or something. I'm doing the right thing and I won't change my mind about it.

I went straight home and into my room. I gathered the basket I made last night and put blankets, a lantern, my cloak, Mama's processions, my sword, a change of clothes, a smaller basket of cheese, bread, and vegetables, and medicine. Once I was sure that no one was even peeking out of the corner of their eyes, I left to the forest to leave Berk… forever.


	20. Chapter 20Moonlight Flight

_**Please keep an open mind while you read this fanfiction. Give lots of reviews and comment what you like about this chapter.**_

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 20 – Moonlight Flight**_

As I made my way towards the cove, I thought about what me and Midnight should do after I leave Berk. Perhaps we could go to England, Mama's homeland. Since I mostly take after my mother's side of the family, I might fit in better there. I could find a small house or a cottage far but not too far from a small village in a forest. That way, I could hide Midnight.

Sure I will be away everyone I have ever known, but they would be better off without me, they never needed me except to marry the future chief, which is something that would make me want to jump off a cliff, if I have to marry someone I didn't love. I'm sure Grandma would understand as always. Asgerd will get the honor he always wanted. I feel bad that I'm leaving Ruff, especially since we have became good friends. But she wouldn't want a deserter, a liar, and a traitor for a friend.

Gobber would find other apprentice for his forge. Snotlout will definitely be glad that I'll be gone, it will make him heir to chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe. Papa will be sad at first, but he would get over it. He always said that a chief never shows despair. He would soon pick another heir, which would Snotlout since he is next in line. They would definitely be better off without me. Maybe someday, I could find someone that accepts both me and Midnight and we would married and have children of our own.

Or maybe I should try to find out the true reason the dragons are raiding us. I have noticed that when they come to raid, their ribs really show, and when they come back the next time, their ribs still show, sometimes even worse than before. I find to find the source of the problem, if I can stop it, I can hopefully stop the problem.

I made random turns in different directions to drive any followers off the trail. After awhile, I made it to the cove entrance. I was so depressed that I didn't notice that the log to the cove was off. When I went to the end of tunnel leading to the cove, I took a good final look around the cove. This has become a place where I can escape the doubts, scowls, and expectations of the villages. But soon I'll be away from here forever.

I went down the rocky path, carrying the basket with me. _"Come on, we're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and I are taking a little vacation… forever."_ I called to Midnight as I set down the basket to check if I have everything we would need for the long journey.

As I put on my flight vest and loosen my hair into its usual style. I heard a sound that sounded like a blade being sharpened on a stone. Suddenly, it scraped the rock too quickly. I looked up and saw Asgerd with a very shocked expression on his face as he was holding his ax and a sharpening stone, almost cutting his right arm. How did I miss him?

_**"WHOA! ASGERD!"**_ I yelled, _"What are you doing here?"_ I asked in a slightly softer tone with a tinge of alarm. _"Well, I came here, because I want to know what is going on, but I'm starting to get a few ideas on what is really going on."_ he said, then his face suddenly turned beet red when he remembered a specific day, _"And now I know why you pushed me off when I landed on top of you when we faced the Nadder for the first time. Sorry." "Apology accepted."_ I said nervously as I tried to think of a way to get him out of here without him finding out my other secret.

"_How did you get in here?"_ I asked. _"I fell through a hole in the ground next to a log."_ he answered. Oh great, he found the hole, I must have forgotten to cover it.

_"So Thora, you were Leif the whole time?"_ he asked flabbergasted. _"Yes."_ I answered not looking away. Maybe him finding out that I'm really a girl in boy's clothing to get in Training will distracted him from finding Midnight. _"Who were you talking to?" _he asked. _"No one, I was just talking to myself."_ I said, looking around to see if Midnight was in Asgerd's line of sight.

"_What are you doing here anyway?"_ he asked with suspicion. _"This is just a place I go to, to think to myself."_ I answered. _"So what in the basket?"_ he asked. _"Oh this place is also where I train, so it's just full of training materials. Have to practice for tomorrow." _I said. _"But women in this tribe aren't allowed to be warriors, they have to cook and wash clothes."_ he said. _"Yes, but as long as I dress as a boy, my father allowed me to train, and if I fail, I stick to the life of a maid."_ I said. I never did like that kind of life.

_"Okay, now that I understand why you disguised yourself, maybe to can answer another question."_ Asgerd said as he examined his ax. _"What question?"_ I asked not liking where this was going. _"You were pretty good on all the subjects except Dragon Training, you were terrible." _he stated. I pouted at the last part. _"But then all of a sudden, you took them down without barely touching them." _he said. _"Well I have always been a fast learner." _I answered, which was true.

_"No, No way! No one, I repeat,' no one' just gets as you, especially you!"_ he said as he jumped off and twirled around his ax menacingly from his left hand to his right and approached me as I backed away from him, _"Start talking!"_ he threatened, _"Are you training with Someone?" "Training? Well maybe more with just myself from what I saw the others do." _I said trying, lead him towards the entrance. _"It better not involve this."_ he said as he lifted me up a bit from the front straps of my vest. _"This is sort of leather armor that helps improve my muscles."_ I said.

Then we hear a large snap. _"What was that?"_ Asgerd asked as he pushes me to the left of him. _"Look I told, this is just a secret hideout for me and only me, and I do occasional training here, I normally work at the old Training Grounds."_ I said. _"I'm not buying that." _Asgerd said.

_"Asgerd, that wouldn't be jealousy that asking those questions?"_ I asked. _"What… jealousy, why would I be jealous?"_ he asked blushing. _"I can think of a few reasons." _I said crossing my arms, "_Anyway, I'm not too psyched about Dragon Training, but I worked for years on my other skills just as much as you!"_ I yelled, _"Like what?"_ he asked crossing his arms. _"Speed, agility, analyzing a situation before I do anything about it, and what else… oh yeah working with others."_ I said.

_"Said the girl who's dresses as a boy to sneak into training, and lies to her so called friends." _he said. _"First of all, Ruffnut knows about it, and second of all, you're one to talk. When you and another comrade are about to get roasted, you get out of the way and leave your partner to burn to a crisp. You say you're training in order to protect the village, but you only care about the thrill of the battle, and the glory after that__**. YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF!**__"_ I yelled back at the top of my lungs.

Not taking it anyone, he hit me in the left shoulder, nearly dislocating it and sending me to the ground. Judging by his face; he regretted it. I guess he doesn't like to hit girls, or maybe it's because hit the chief's daughter. _"Oh no! Thora, I'm so sorry. I just lost it." _Asgerd said as he tried to help me up, but I brushed it off, saying I can get up myself.

Then there was a loud roar. Oh no! I thought to myself as I got up from Asgerd's punch in the shoulder. Our yelling must have woken Midnight up or something and he must think that Asgerd is a threat to me. Things are going to get uglier by the second. I need to stop this.

It turns out that Midnight was sleeping after the tree's roots and he lifted his head to see us. Asgerd gasped from shock, Midnight might have been smaller than he had originally pictured, but Asgerd knew immediately that he was seeing a real Night Fury. _**"GET DOWN!"**_ Asgerd commanded me to do. Then he knocked me to the ground again, just as I gotten up myself. Using his body as a shield.

This must have proved to Midnight that Asgerd was definitely a threat, since he charged at him, roaring and growling. _**"RUN, RUN!"**_ Asgerd yelled as he got up off of me and prepare to use his ax to chop off Midnight's head. _**"NO! DON'T!"**_ I yelled as I pushed Asgerd to the ground and pulled his ax out of his hands, and threw it as far as I can with my injured shoulder.

_"Midnight stop!"_ I yelled. He stopped in his tracks but he kept rearing up like a wild horse. _"It's okay. He's a friend. There's just a huge misunderstanding." _I said trying to calm him down, while Asgerd had an extremely perplexed look on his face. Midnight seemed to have calmed down, but he was still growling at Asgerd.

"_Sorry about that, you just scared Midnight. He just thought that you were a serious threat to me."_ I explained as I tried to hold Midnight back, who was trying to get to Asgerd growling at him. _"I scared Midnight!"_ Asgerd yelled as he got up. Then his face went pale in a mixture of shock and confusion. _"Who's Midnight?"_ he asked. _"That's what I call him."_ I stated as I tried to calm Midnight down, patting him on his forehead. _"Midnight, this is Asgerd." _I said.

_"Oh you have got to be kidding me."_ Asgerd exclaimed, _"You're treating this dragon as if it's…" _Asgerd started to say. _"He."_ I corrected, _"Males have shinier scales then females do." "Whatever. You're treating that…that…thing as if 'He's' a pet dog. He's a heartless monster." _He said. _"Well, he does kind of act like a dog and sometimes a cat or a horse."_ I stated, _"But he's not a monster. He's just a big sweetheart."_

Then Midnight growled ferociously at Asgerd. _"Midnight, no!"_ I said in a firm voice. Asgerd just shook his head in disbelief and betrayal in his eyes. _"You are so busted." _he said as he ran towards the exit of the cove. _"Duh, duh, duh, we're dead!"_ I exclaimed as he disappeared from sight.

Midnight however, just grunted and turned around to the spot where he was sleeping earlier. I noticed this and turned around to face him. _"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Where do you think you're going?"_ I asked. Midnight turned around and gave me a look that said _'isn't it oblivious?'_ _"Come we got to stop him before he reaches the village and tells everyone."_ I said as I got on his back, _"it might help to have at least one member of my tribe to understand our point of view."_ With that, Midnight understood and we took off to catch Asgerd.

It didn't take too long to find him in the air. He was splinting almost as fast as the wind, he looked back over his right shoulder to see if I was chasing after him. Of course he is used to girls chasing him, but not like this. When he looked to the front of him, he saw a large log and jumped over. At the same time, we swooped down and just as Asgerd was about to set his feet on the ground, Midnight grabbed him by his right arm, hosting him in the air.

"_**OH GREAT ODIN'S GHOST! OH THIS IT!"**_ Asgerd yelled, grunting at the claw of Midnight. I steered Midnight to the top of a tall and thin pine tree. Midnight let go of Asgerd onto a thin branch and he landed on top of the tree which made it bent over, while Asgerd was holding on to dear life on the branch.

"_**THORA, GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"**_ Asgerd ordered as he was dangling from the branch to my left. _"Please, you have to let me explain."_ I pleaded. _**"I AM NOT GOING TO HEAR ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY!"**_ he said as climbed his way to the base of tree.

My temper hit its peak at Asgerd's last comment. _**"WELL MR. HOFFERSON, YOU ARE GOING TO HEAR WHAT I'M GOT TO SAY, BECAUSE I AM VERY, VERY SICK AND TIRED OF PEOPLE IGNORING ME WHEN I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY TO THEM. SO, NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY, YOU WILL LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO TELL YOU!"**_ I say in an upmost menacing voice, _"Do you understand?"_ when he nodded, shocked by my statement.

I explained about the day I found Midnight and set him free, how I befriended him, how I found out secrets of the dragons, how I learned to ride him, and how I found out that dragons aren't what they seem. _"That's sounds a little farfetched, there being good dragons and them being peaceful and them only fighting when nessecary."_ Asgerd said shaking his head absorbing this new information.

"_Well if you don't believe me, just let me show you."_ I said offering him a ride. Asgerd knew immediately what I meant and look down. _"Please Asgerd."_ I pleaded but no response. _"Well I guess we'll just leave, but judging by how far the tip of the tree is bent due to Midnight's weight, and how it reassembled a catapult, once we fly off the tree, you will be flung off and probably land in the ocean or the edge of a cliff judging by the direction." _I stated out as a matter of fact, trying to convince him that it would be better to take my offer.

Asgerd finally saw my point of the current situation and started to climb up the tree to me and Midnight. _"That's it!"_ I said. He managed to get near the tip of the tree trunk and sit on top of one of the branches. He was about to grab hold of a branch to hoist himself to us with his left hand. Midnight didn't seem to like the idea and growled at Asgerd. Still he managed to grab a strap of the saddle. I extended my left hand to help him up, but he swatted it away. That's way too rude. Hopefully, this ride will greatly change his tune.

Asgerd used his right to grab the other side of the saddle and heave himself up into the saddle. He didn't like this idea anymore than Midnight as he wasn't grabbing hold of me or anything on the saddle. He must feel ridiculous to be on the back of a dragon. But maybe he'll see things differently after a lap around the island. I figure if I take him on a flight once around the island, he will see dragons from my point of view. _"Now get me down."_ Asgerd commanded. _"I will, __**in due time**__."_ I said under my breath. _"Midnight, down, gently."_ I said.

Midnight spread his wings and we rise upward as the tip of the tree started to get upright. I turned to Asgerd to face him, seeing he was a bit nervous. _"See nothing to worry about."_ I reassured. But what I didn't know is that Midnight had a mischievous look on his scaly face.

In an instant, Midnight shot into the air and flew at lightning speeds. _**"WHOA!"**_ both me and Asgerd shouted at the action. Asgerd yelled in a nervous state as he started to fall back in the saddle, using his hands on the saddle to himself to keep himself on. _**"MIDNIGHT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" **_I yelled at him, _**"BAD DRAGON!"**_

"_**IS HE ALWAYS LIKE THIS?"**_ Asgerd yelled against the wind, so I could hear him, as he wrapped his legs around my waist and circled his arms around my shoulders for support. This action made me turn beet red. Even through I was getting over my crush over him, I still like the way he held me. _"Sorry, he's really not always like this."_ I explained.

Then Midnight folded his wings to his body and we started to lean to the right towards the ocean below. _"Oh dear…"_ I said as we started to fall. This isn't going to be pretty. Both of me and Asgerd yelled as we went to the ocean and came up and back into the ocean again, and then skipped on the water once. Thankfully the wind dried us off completely so we would get a cold. Not that Vikings 'get' colds.

"_MIDNIGHT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WE NEED HIM TO LIKE US!"_ I yelled as we hovered over the water. Then we raised high into the air and he started spinning clockwise in the air. _"And now he's spinning, thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."_ I stated as Asgerd yelped. Then we started to fall back down, spinning in all directions this time.

"_**WHAT DO WE DO TO MAKE HIM STOP?"**_ Asgerd yelled shutting his eyes extremely shut. _**"I'M NOT SURE, MAYBE IF YOU PROMISE THAT YOU WON'T HARM HIM!"**_ I suggested in a loud voice so he can hear me. _**"WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY? I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!" **_Asgerd yelled. _**"YOU GOT ANY BETTER IDEAS?"**_ I asked as we got close to the water.

"_**ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I WON'T BE A THREAT TO HIM! JUST LET ME OFF THIS THING!"**_ Asgerd yelled. Midnight to understand and his face softened. Then just as we were about hit the surface, Midnight opened his wings and we hovered in the air.

After awhile, I recovered from the wild ride and Asgerd still had his eyes shut tight. _"Midnight! What… were… you… thinking?"_ I asked as I noticed the sunset on the horizon. There were beautiful shades pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows in the sky, the ocean reflected the display of colors, and they gave the immense rock structures a radiant glow. I have mentioned before that we have beautiful views of the sunsets, but no one has ever seen a sunset like this before.

I turned to the right towards Asgerd who has his eyes shut tighter than the tightest knot. _"Asgerd you have to open your eyes, you don't know what you are missing."_ I said to him in amazement of the beauty around us. Then we went into the clouds above us, which has pinks and gold's. It felt like we have entered Valhalla or even Asgard itself.

After taking a few breaths, Asgerd looked up and gasped in amazement. He never saw anything like this in his life. He was so awestruck that his legs let go of my waist and he put his hands on my shoulders. He must have felt that he was a different world, peaceful. Far different from the war loving world he was raised in.

Soon we flew underneath a golden cloud, Asgerd saw it and removed his right hand from my right shoulder and lifted it to touch the cloud to see if it felt like wool like everyone said. I know the answer and he'll be surprised. As soon as he touched it, water ran down his arm in tiny little water droplets. He smiled like a little boy at the discovery of this.

Then Midnight did a loop de loop and in the thrill of it, Asgerd let go of me with both hands and lifted them high in the air to enjoy the excitement even more and feel more the cloud above us. Then we went out of the cloud and we came into a clearing in the clouds that could definitely be mistaken for Valhalla or Heaven as Mama would call it. She would have loved this as well.

Then we did another loop de loop, and entered a big cloud. Asgerd placed his hands back on my shoulders. Water droplets from the clouds slid around our bodies and tickled us. In an instant, we came out of the cloud and it was already night time. The stars were shining very brightly. It was beyond beautiful; the three of us couldn't agree more.

Then before we knew it, the northern lights came out. None of us ever saw the mysterious and majestic lights this close before, except for Midnight. As Asgerd was admiring the phenomena that he usually saw from afar, he placed his hands on my waist. I blushed a little from that action. Then we continued to fly, we soared over a large sheet of cloud that look like a massive sea or field of fluffy looking water droplets.

Once we came to the edge of the clouds and we came to an overhead view of our beloved island of Berk, it may not be the most pleasant of places, but it is home for us. Both of eyes widen in bewilderment, especially Asgerd, it looks even more beautiful at night.

Midnight looked back at us with a toothy smile, seeing that we are enjoying this spectacular flight. I guess he approves of Asgerd now. I don't know if Asgerd was paying attention, but he wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his head on my right shoulder. I looked back at him and blushed redder than Papa's beard. But I soon relaxed in his embrace.

Then we flew in between the guardian statues, we were careful not to let anyone see us, one person in on one of my little secrets, other than Ruffnut, was more than enough for me. Then we flew over the forests and climbed even higher.

"_Alright, I have to admit, this is pretty cool."_ Asgerd said. _"Don't you just feel completely free up here?" _I asked. _"So that's the feeling I have been feeling this whole this flight has calmed down into a leisure cruise."_ Asgerd said, _"I'm starting to think that this is much more fun than fighting dragons."_ he stated.

_"I found it hard to believe that our dream came true yesterday."_ I said as I looked up into the sky, thinking about Mama. _"Our dream?"_ Asgerd asked confused as he tilted his head slightly to his right. _"Me and my Mama."_ I explained, _"We used to dream about flying together, she died before she could see it happen." _Asgerd made a slight sympathetic look. _"I'm so sorry."_ He said. _"It's okay, anyway, thanks to Midnight, it finally came true."_ I said, _"But I have to give up another dream of mine."_ I said. _"Oh, what's that?"_ Asgerd asked. _"Well I have always wanted to be a warrior like my father, even if he doesn't believe I can do it. But now I have to choose between the dream I have dreamed since I was a little girl and the right thing to do."_ I stated with worry. _"That's a tough choice." _he stated.

"_Anyhow, I have to admit, I was wrong to judge you and the dragons, especially since they can do this everyday of their live s and you found a way to ride one, especially a rare and powerful Night Fury. It's amazing, he's amazing and you as well."_ Asgerd stated as he patted Midnight on the neck with his left hand. _"Thank you."_ He said to me and I blushed. I'm starting see that Asgerd may not be the jerk I was previously thinking he was. I don't want this moment to end ever. Perhaps, we can even be friends or more than that.

_***I have to get started on my second semester on Parkland. I have to focus on my online Eastern cultures, sociology, and geography classes until the middle of May, but I'll probably do a little bit of writing whenever I can. Please be patient with me, I will update as soon as possible. Thank you.**_


	21. Chapter 21 The True Mastermind

_**Please keep an open mind while you read this fanfiction. Give lots of reviews and comment what you like about this chapter.**_

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 21 – The True Mastermind**_

I really wish this night can last forever. We were just flying over a random part of the Norwegian Ocean, enjoying the tranquility. Then Asgerd came up with a question I rather avoid. _"So what are you going to do about it?"_ he asked. I sighed in uncertainly. _"Thora, your final exam is the day after tomorrow. You're going to have to kill a…"_ he started to say, but stopped when he realized that Midnight will hear it. _"…Kill a Dragon."_ he whispered in the lowest whisper he could muster. _"Please don't remind me."_ I said, _"My original plan was to leave this place, until you showed up."_

While I was talking to Asgerd about what to do as we started to fly over a strange fog. Then Midnight's ears perked up and his eyes widen and the slits went very thin. He was hearing something, like it was calling him. Then, without warning, he sharply turned downward to his right and we dropped several feet down and regain a smooth altitude as fast as he could while me and Asgerd yelped in surprise as we went into the fog below.

"Midnight what's wrong?" I asked as Asgerd tighten his grip on me. Then we saw a shadow-like figure in the thick fog to our right. Then it came to view, it was a red Nightmare and it was holding something in its talons. "Get down!" I told Asgerd as we leaned forwarded closer to Midnight.

Before we knew it, dragons of all kinds of species were all around us, all carrying something in their claws or fangs, shrieking Dragonese, the long believed language of the dragons. I took a closer look at the Nightmare that almost rammed into us and saw that the precious cargo in it talons was in fact a dead body that I couldn't identify. _"They must be hauling in their kill, and their stolen goods."_ I whispered to Asgerd. _"Huh…what does that make us?" _he asked nervously.

I gave him a deadly glare and he gave an apologetic look. He better not be seriously thinking that Midnight would be turning us in for food. I have noticed that his diet concerned mostly of white meat and a few various plants. Plus, he thinks of me as a part of his family, or whatever they call a large group of dragons. He would never betray me. The other dragons however, might have red meat in their diets. I silently hoped we weren't as a Zippleback gave us a hungry look.

Plus, dragons don't attack unless they feel threatened. And they have all this food in their clutches and they still come back with their ribs dangerously showing. I have a feel that there is something more to the dragons raiding the villages of our islands and I have a feeling that what ever is coming up ahead, we are about to find out.

Before long, we swooped down to a maze of tall rock structures zig zaged through it, and when we came to a clearing, we came face to face with a large smoking hot volcano. _"Wait a minute."_ I said perplexed. _"What is it?"_ Asgerd asked concerned, tightening his hold on my waist. _"Ever since I freed Midnight, I have been having strange dreams about red mist, a golden wristband with a strange stone, the dragons calling for my help, me wearing strange armor that looked like it was made of scales, me riding a black steed, which I think was Midnight, voices calling me the 'Storm Rider' who I think is suppose to save the world or something , holding the Dragon's Storm Sword that I'm have in my sheath, me leading other dragon riders who are calling me 'captain', and a huge dragon that makes the Monstrous Nightmare look like a newt."_ I explained, _"And now I think about it, in my dreams, I always see that volcano."_

One by one, we saw dragons enter through a hole in the side of the volcano. Asgerd tightened his grip around me with nervousness. We yelped as we went into the volcano and navigated through a narrow tunnel. So we came to a large cavern with small plateaus scatter around.

There was lava giving off stream in the bottom, eggs on the plateaus, and dragons were everywhere; in the air, hanging from the ceiling, and on the plateaus and edges on the sides. And they were all huddled together. Then it hit me, this is the Dragon's Nest, the one that Viking tribes everywhere have been searching for over three hundred years. _"What my father wouldn't give to find this!"_ I exclaimed as Asgerd hold me tighter with eyes going wider by the second.

We steer to the left to an edge that had a large stalagmite that we can hide behind. We can't risk the other dragons seeing humans, who knows what, would happen if they did. We all peeked behind our hiding place and saw something that bewildered us out of our minds.

They were all dropping the food into the lava below. Is this where all of the stolen food from our villages has been going these past three hundred years? But the food will be burned into nothing if they just drop it down there. I guess some dragons aren't as smart as some. No wonder these poor things are starving. _"Well it's nice to see all of our stolen food has been dropped down a hole."_ I stated in disbelief. _"They're not eating any of it."_ Asgerd stated as a Nadder dropped a large fish below.

Then a small Gronkle came into the cavern, flying awkwardly, as if it drank a whole barrel of barley beer. It didn't seem that it had any food to drop into the pit below. Then it slightly shook its body from tail to head, opened its mouth, and a small half-eaten fish was let go into the scorching lava below. After that, it scratched its left ear with its left hind leg without a care in the world, acting like a dog.

Then suddenly, there was a loud unearthly roar, a familiar one. It seemed to tell the little Gronkle that it needed to get out of here fast. It started to hover towards the nearest edge it could find. But it was too slow. Out of the blue… or red, a head that is larger than the size of my whole house, came out of the red mist and its enormous mouth closed over the poor creature and swallowed it whole.

Both me and Asgerd gasped in shock and disbelief. _"What…is…that?"_ Asgerd asked in a hushed voice. I had no idea, but that the same monster that has been haunting my dreams these past few weeks. The dragons seem to have a good idea what that thing was as they sunk back into the walls nearest to them and huddled close together in fear. Even the Monstrous Nightmares were shaking in the scaly skin.

Then the head went back into the fiery pit below, where it seemed to live. Both me and Asgerd hold our breath, if the head was larger than a house, then its body must be the size of a mountain.

The head of the colossal creature came as it sniffed the air. It looked like it smelled something that was foreign to the nest. Something like…humans. It must smell me and Asgerd. Even in the most putrid of places; dragons have the keenest sense of smell. I leaned forwarded and whispered in Midnight's ear. _"Okay, Midnight we got to go…__**NOW!**__"_ I said as the monster pinpointed our scent.

The monster lunged towards us, but got out of the way in time. Thank goodness for his speed. The sudden lunge from the hideous giant must have terrified the dragons and they all scatter in a circular motion rising upwards towards the large hole at the top of the nest. As we flew higher and higher, the monster lifted its body higher to try to catch us. Fortunately, it missed us, unfortunately its jaws clamped on the tip of the tail of a poor green Zippleback and it pulled it in.

In an instant we shot out of the volcano and flew as fast as we could to the areas of ocean that didn't have the fog. After we made enough distance, we settled down and tried to find Berk. But no such luck. It's a good thing that dragons have exceptional navigational skills to find their way in the most impossible situations.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, Berk was in our sight to our left. Although, I'm pretty sure that it was to the other way. That fog must have messed up my usual good sense of direction. At least, Midnight didn't lose his sense of direction.

"_What was that thing anyway?"_ I asked, looking back to the fog. _"I'm not sure, but I think that could have been a supposedly mythical dragon called the Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. Sometimes called either the Green, Purple, or Red Death, due to the color of the coral-like horns on its body." _Asgerd said.

"_You kind of sounded like Fishlegs there for a moment."_ I stated. _"I told you I've read the Dragon Manual. There was even a section of dragons that are assumed to be of myths and legends. And I'm pretty sure that dragon was one of them."_ he explained. _"I must have skipped that part, because aside from the strengths and characteristics of dragons, it only showed that all dragons are 'extremely dangerous and had to kill on sight.' Well… except the Night Fury, which said that we should 'never engage and our only is to hide and pray that it does not find us.' So I skimmed through most of it."_ I said.

_"Anyway, I think you were right about the dragons', they don't want to steal from us, but that monster makes them fight."_ Asgerd said. _"That's why the dragons look half-starved with their ribs showing, because that thing is hogging it all."_ I said. _"Yes, it totally makes sense, it's like a giant beehive, they're the workers and that was the queen."_ he said as we got into the cove.

As soon as we touched the ground, Asgerd released me and jumped off Midnight. _"Let's find your dad."_ he said. _**"NO!"**_ I yelled, getting off Midnight and chased Asgerd. Luckily, thanks to my speed, I grabbed Asgerd by the right arm. _"No, they'll kill Midnight." _I explained as I turned him towards me and started to walk back to Midnight, _"Asgerd we need figure this out carefully."_

"_Thora, we've just discovered the Dragon's Nest. The very thing that we have been looking for since Vikings first settled here."_ Asgerd said, _"And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon…"_ I Asgerd started to say, and then Midnight growled at him.

"_I don't think that he likes being called a pet, he probably prefers to be called 'friend.'"_ I explained with my back faced towards him. _"Whatever you're doing this is to protect your dragon __**'friend'**__, are you serious?"_ he asked. I turned around and gave him my answer. _"Yes."_ I said as sure as I have ever been in my life. I'm doing this to help my friend and friends don't let their friends get hurt. There's got to be another way to do this. I scared, but I won't let fear keep me from doing the right thing.

After giving Asgerd my answer, his mouth started to hang and his eyes widen with amazement. I suppose I've impress him or something. I turned away to my right to try to figure out something, anything.

"_Okay,"_ he said shrugging his shoulders, _"So what are we going to do about it?" "Well… just give me until the day after tomorrow. I'll think of something."_ I said. That's when my final test with the Monstrous Nightmare is. I have until then to figure out a plan.

_"Anyway, I'm sorry about the mean things I did to you."_ Asgerd said. I looked up back at him, surprised that he has the guts to apologized and admit he's wrong. _"And I'm sorry for thinking that you were a jerk."_ I said feeling guilty about what I thought about him for the past few weeks. _"Apology accepted."_ We both said.

_"Um…Thora, you know the festival is tomorrow, and unless you have something else to do or going with someone else…"_ Asgerd started to say. _"Asgerd…are you asking me on a date during the festival?"_ I asked. _"Well… yeah."_ he answered. The festival was to celebrate the founding of the village almost three hundred years ago. I have dream that I could go to the festival with him, but I never thought it would be possible. "_I would love to go."_ I said turning my head in a different direction shyly.

Then suddenly, I hit him on his right upper arm. _"Ow!"_ Asgerd shouted, holding his arm. _"That's for almost telling the others about Midnight."_ I said. Midnight grunted in amusement. Asgerd just had a confused and slightly embarrassed look on his face about a girl hitting him. He was about to say something, but I pulled him by the collar of his shirt and pecked a light kiss on his right cheek. _"And that's for understanding so much he means to me."_ I said. _"Well um… you're welcome, see you tomorrow."_ Asgerd said as he awkwardly left the cove.

I still can't believe I did that. Maybe Asgerd can be that special person in the future after all. I had a dazed look on my face, actually looking forward to tomorrow. I felt something come to my left side, grunting softly. I turned and I was face to face with Midnight. _"What are you looking at?"_ I asked slightly embarrassed. He just grunted in response, as if to say _'nothing.'_

I sighed and turned to face him, holding his head with my hands. _"Don't worry Midnight, we'll figure something out."_ I say as I hugged his neck. Midnight covered his right wing over my body as to return the hug. After I while, we released each other, and I gave Midnight a kiss on his forehead. _"See you tomorrow."_ I said.

After that, I went out of the cove, through the tunnel, and out of the hole. This time, I made double sure that the log was over the hole. I looked up to see if anyone else was watching. Once I was super sure that the coast was clear, I left for the village to get a good night's sleep.

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_


	22. Chapter 22 Festival of the Forefathers

_***The dances between Asgerd and Thora are a fast moving dance. Think of the songs that they dance to 'Warriors' by the Lord of Dance, Kingdom Dance from 'Tangled' and the instrumental version of 'Gift of a Friend' by Demi Lovato.**_

_**Please keep an open mind while you read this fanfiction. Give lots of reviews and comment what you like about this chapter.**_

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 22 – The Festival of the Forefathers**_

As the first rays of day came in through my window, I was tossing and turning in a very sweaty mess. _**"AHH!"**_ I screamed waking up. It was the same dream again, this time; the Red Death was clear as day in my sight. Now I know that my nightmares are warning us about something. But why am I having these dreams? Sure I found out that we can befriend, train, and ride a dragon, but I don't know how I can face a monstrosity like that leviathan.

I wiped the sweat off my face and sighed deeply as I moved my feet off my bed. I'm surprised that Papa didn't hear my scream. He probably has a lot of things to do this morning for the festival and had to leave early. As chief, he has to observe the festivities, approve the food, items, and entertainment that are taking place today before they can take place.

But I suspected that he would leave in the morning, he usually leaves the house without saying good morning or good bye to me. It has been this way since Mama died. I thought that he would at least say _'hi'_ since I have the honor of killing the Monstrous Nightmare. But he didn't. Which was fine, I didn't want to see him this morning right now, because I'm trying to _save_ the Nightmare.

Anyway, I figure out what to do last night about the Dragon Killing Final Test tomorrow. I figure I should try to enjoy the festival today and share the plan with Asgerd. Hopefully, he will agree and we can carry tomorrow before things become out of hand.

After I got off the bed, I decided to get ready for the Festival of the Forefathers, which is what the festival is called. I saw some flowers in the cove that would look great in my hair. I changed into my Leif disguise, minus the wig, and then I went downstairs, grabbed a small basket, and snuck out to the cove.

I did my usual back and forth along the trails to confuse any more followers. I lifted the log and slipped through the hole and covered again. I looked around the cove to see there were any other unexpected visitors. Luckily there wasn't. So, I went down into the cove, and started gathering the little white flowers that grew on the vines that covered the walls of the cove into a basket.

Then Midnight came up to me, like a dog who was happy to see his master after a long trip and he rubbed my right side with his head. _"Hi Midnight! I'm just gathering some flowers for the festival today. I have to attend it, but maybe I'll see you tonight."_ I said patting his head with a smile.

He grunted and whined as if he was saying _"ah, but you just got here."_ Then I grabbed my basket and climbed out of the cove. Once I was out of the tunnel, I covered the hole again, and left for the village once I was sure the coast was clear.

The preparations for the festival were about halfway done. I went inside my house, and into my room to get ready. After I changed out of my disguise, I got dressed for festival. First I braided two small parts of my hair, pulled the rest of it over my shoulder; I tried the two braids together behind my head, and brought the remaining hair down. That made it look like the braids were a headband. I also braided small thin parts from the right, left, and back of my head and two strands on wither side of my face. For the final touch, I put some of the white small flowers from the cove, and put them on top of the headband braids.

I put on a fresh pair of pants just in case of trouble, then I got into my dress, it was deep sea blue, it reveal my shoulders, showing about a half an inch of the top, my sleeves that went to my wrists, resembled large hanging bells, and my skirt was long flowing. Then I added my decorative chocolate brown festival boots, my locket, and other jewelry that belonged to Mama and once I was content I left for the festival.

When I got outside, I saw the beauty of this very day. There were acrobats, puppeteers, jugglers, gypsies, fortune tellers, performing dancers, carts selling both traditional and foreign foods, clothes, jewelry, weapons, pottery, furniture, antiques, treasures, and goods from different corners of Europe (Some, I regret were stolen from other ships. Which I were chief, and I won't, I would ban stealing.), performing animals, storytellers, magicians, and musicians everywhere. Some of the villagers young and old were dancing to the joyful melodies in their best festival clothes. This is definitely the way to celebrate the day the forefathers found the very island we are standing on.

_"Hey Thora! Wow you look great!"_ said a familiar voice. I turned to my left and saw Ruff wearing her light sand blonde hair in a single braid behind her. She had a golden brown dress with criss-crossing ties in the front and back of her dress, and bell sleeves around the wrists. _"Thanks Ruff, you look very nice yourself."_ I complimented back. _"Thanks!"_ she said back, _"This time of year is one of the only times I get all dressed up." "Same here."_ I said with a giggle.

_"So, what are your plans for the festival? Going with anyone special?"_ she asked in a teasing voice. _"Well…"_ I started to say with a bright red blush on my face, _"Asgerd asked me and I said yes." "What? But I thought you didn't like him anymore."_ she said astonished. _"Well, it turns out he's not that bad. So I've decided to give him another chance."_ I explained. _"Well anyway, we better get going, your dad's is gonna make his annual speech any minute now."_ she said. With that, we rushed to hear the speech.

We all gathered at the center of village, which has a large circular cobbled stone floor a quarter of a mile away from my house. Papa was in the center of that center and was about to make his annual speech to honor my great-great-great-great grandfather and his great-great-great grandfather. I wonder what he's going to say this year.

_**"Welcome to the Festival of the Forefathers!"**_ Papa said with excitement and pride in his voice. _**"About three hundred years ago, my great-great-great grandfather led a fleet of ships to this very island. A few hours after they pulled up to shore, the monsters we all know as 'Dragons' attacked them. But thankfully, they were able slay over half of the dragons that used to terrorized the other creatures of the very island that we stand on today. On this fine and gorgeous day, we celebrated their victory with our annual festival. And tomorrow, a young Viking will prove himself by killing his very first dragon. And not just any dragon… THE MONSTROUS NIGHTMARE! So now my friends, eat, drink, dance, compete in the competitions and contests, and enjoy!"**_ he said finishing the speech. After which, everyone clapped and applauded with excitement and celebration of our forefathers.

The only ones that didn't applauded with the same enthusiasm were me and possibly Asgerd. I cringed in disgust, I was suddenly ashamed about what my forefathers did, then again, they didn't know about the truth about the dragons. Driving the dragons off the island must have been how the island started to get weaker every year.

_"Thora? Is that you?"_ I heard a familiar voice in a surprised asked from my right. I turned to face the source of the voice. It was Asgerd; he was wearing a dark blue tunic with decorative borders, black hoes, a brown belt with matching decorative boots, and a small cranberry red cape that went just below his shoulders. His golden blond hair was tied into a neat braid behind him, he was wearing a different rolled up bandana that almost seemed gold in color, and he had an amulet that had an image of Odin holding his spear, Gungnir, and his pure white eight legged stallion Sleipnir. (I wonder if he ever rides dragons, or I'm I the first of any of the ninth realms or just one of the very few?) Anyhow, Asgerd looked like a warrior from Asgard itself in that wardrobe. _"You look very beautiful."_ he said shyly. _"Thank you."_ I said blushing shyly. Then we walked off and enjoyed the sights, smells, and sounds of the festival.

_"So Thora, besides sneaking of the village to play with dragons, and train to be a warrior in the guise of a farm boy named Leif, what else do you do?"_ Asgerd asked. _"Well as the people would expect me to do, I draw, play an instrument, in my case the guitar, knit, cook, bake, dance, weave baskets, make candles, and sew. I like doing those things, but what I really like to do, are to do archery, practice my sword-woman ship skills, invent inventions to help the people, no matter what people said about them, and read. My mother taught me to do it."_ I said.

_"So what about you?"_ I asked. _"Well, I mostly practice my skills as a warrior."_ he answered. _"Really? I wouldn't have guessed."_ I said sarcastically. _"I also take care of my mother. She hasn't been feeling well since we moved here." _Asgerd said. _"I see, so I've heard." _I said. Gobber told me that Asgerd's mother was severely injured in a battle with the dragons. They had to leave, because she couldn't fight anymore. I wonder why that is. Probably, since there are no female Vikings on Berk, she won't feel pressure to fight anymore or something.

As we look among the merchandise of the shops, the various foods, the games the children of the village were playing, and the shows the performers were performing. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout were hanging out together in their festival clothes and they were surprised that me and Asgerd were together at the festival.

_"Are you guys seeing, what I think I'm seeing."_ Fishlegs asked flabbergasted as he was rubbing his eyes to see if he was imaging things. _"I think I am and I'm glad I did."_ Snotlout exclaimed with a delightful smirk on his face.

"_Why's that?"_ Tuffnut asked. _"Because if those two hook up, then there will be more there are more girls for me then."_ Snotlout said in a snug voice. _"I think it's great that Thora is with Asgerd. She deserves a good guy like Asgerd."_ Ruffnut said looking happy for me.

After watching a puppet show, getting our fortunes told (Half of them good, the other half cautious, which I'm sure was about the dragon war), gotten a bracelet from another country, read some of the books they had (Not that many would look at them), looked at the artwork, had some kabobs and sweet pastries, and saw the ax throwing which Asgerd won, then we heard a lively tune (Warriors). It got me in the mood to dance.

_"Do you want to dance?"_ I asked. Asgerd gave me a look as if was he nervous. _"Actually, I'm not a very good dancer."_ he admitted. That was my first guess. _"It's really pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Come on, I'll show you."_ I said as he pulled him to the other dancers.

It started out slow at first, the couples put the hands together and walked in a circle, they either walked clockwise or counter-clockwise. Then the music got faster and faster and we dance faster to the music. We all jumped and in the air and even the women lifted their legs up high in the excitement of the dance.

Asgerd was clumsy at first, but soon he was getting the hang of it. Guess he's a just fast learner. As the music picked up more, the smiles grew on our faces and we started laughing in the moment of the dance. I don't think I have ever seen Asgerd laugh or smile like that before. Perhaps he was still hurting from the pain of losing his father. I know the feeling; I was like that ever since I lost my mother.

As Papa was observing the dancing people, he saw me and Asgerd. I suspected that he would be a little cautious about a boy being with his daughter. But he seemed rather interested in a good way.

Then a large woman with golden brown hair tied in a thick braid over her left shoulder, wearing a traditional brown and tan dress and accessories, and three large scars around the area of her neck limped towards Papa. _"Ah Hilda Hofferson, it's a pleasure to see you again."_ Papa said slightly bowing. _"The pleasure is all mine, Chief Stoick."_ she said bowing further down than he did. _"How are you feeling today?"_ he asked. _"Fine, thank you."_ she answered politely as Vikings go.

_"It looks like our children have taken a liking to each other."_ Hilda said as she and my father watched me and Asgerd danced. _"Yes, it does."_ Papa said with his left hand stroking his messy red beard. _"I haven't seen a smile like that, since Njord was still alive."_ Hilda said with a happy and relieved smile on her face. _"Perhaps your son might be a possible candidate for Thora's husband and he would make a good chief." _Papa said.

"_That would be an incredible honor Chief Stoick for my son to marry your beautiful daughter and him being next chief of the village" _Hilda said bowing to him, _"But shouldn't you give that honor to the Leif lad? He did win the honor of killing the Nightmare and ace every course in Viking training."_ Hilda said. That made Papa flinched for a bit. _"Yes, well, Thora won't be ready for marriage for other five years."_ he stated, _"And besides, he's from another village and he probably needs to help his folks on his family's farm." "I see." _Hilda saidunderstanding the situation.

Then another dance started (Kingdom Dance), it started out slow like the last one. When the music got faster, I did a small dance of my own. There was a little boy standing on the sidelines and he looked like he wanted to join in the fun. I ran over to him and danced with him. Soon others started to join the dance.

Reluctant to join another dance, Asgerd simply shook his head and refuse my invitation to dance again as I danced with a black-bearded friend of Gobber's. But then someone from behind him pushed him into the crowd and into the dancing arms of a random woman with light blonde hair in a tight braid that made it look like it was blowing in a strong wind.

Asgerd turned to his right and saw Fishlegs with a nervous look and then pointed to Ruffnut who had a mischievous grin on her face. Asgerd scowled at both of them, he knew that they were playing the goddess of love and her match-making sidekick with him and me. when Asgerd was dragged by the woman to dance with the crowd, both of them including Fishlegs gained amused smiles on their faces and then started to chuckle and it grew into hysterical fits of laughter at the look of Asgerd's face.

We all danced around each and kept switching partners. Asgerd and I were about to partner up; a man and a woman came between us and partnered with us separately and unintentionally droved us always from each other. Oh well, we'll get to it next time.

As all of us danced, we formed the symbol of the village, which is a dragon with a sword pierced through its heart (Disturbing to me now.), that can be seen from above. I let go of my partner and started to spin around until I joined up with Asgerd again and we finished the rest of the dance.

Then there was gentle and uplifting music with flutes and guitars (Gift of a Friend). With some persuasion, me and Asgerd danced as well. The men even lifted us women into the air before putting back on the ground to continue the dance with twirls and spins.

It was a very magical moment for me, I felt like I was flying again, only my feet were on the ground and it felt like the only two people in the village square was me and Asgerd. We spent the whole time looking at each other and dance, I looked into his light sapphire eyes, and he looked into my emerald ones. When the song came to a close, the ladies were spin around by the men and both sides bowed respectfully to each other and then we all clapped our hands in delight.

_"Hey Thora, everyone is gathering around to see the Northern Lights tonight."_ Asgerd whispered in my ear, holding his right hand over the right side of his mouth, _"Do you want to find a spot and watch them together?" "Sure, perhaps we can watch them from the mountain." _I said. _"How? It's a difficult climb up there. I imagine it's even harder to walk up there with that dress on? I could carry you, but I don't think we'll be able to get up there in time that way."_ he said. _"Who needs to walk and climb, when we can ride and fly?"_ I stated giving a hint. _"Oh right."_ Asgerd said flabbergasted, _"In that case, let's go." _Once we were sure that no one was watching, we snuck into the forest with a basket fill of fish, to go to Midnight.

With Asgerd accompanying me to the Secret Cove, it was easier to see if anyone else was following. I guess two heads are better than one, or in this case, four eyes are better than two. When we arrived at the log covered hole, we removed it. When I was about to drop into the tunnel below us, Asgerd stop me with his left arm in front of me.

_"What ever happened to ladies first?"_ I asked annoyed. _"I don't think it's a good idea to get that dress dirty, it might make people suspicious."_ he stated as he dropped down from the ground above and stood on top of a rock, standing on his tip-toes to have the top half of his chest showing from the ground. _"Good point. Plus, it was my Mama's dress and I really don't want to spoil it." _I said.

Asgerd grabbed my waist with his hands and lifted me down into the tunnel, making sure my dress wasn't soiled, literally. _"Thanks."_ I said shyly as he set me down on my feet. _"No problem."_ he said as he let go, shrugged his shoulders, then he walked off. You know if I didn't know better, he was doing a little pick up line for me with the dress call and covering it with the excuse of the risk of blowing our cover.

We went through the tunnel and Midnight was quite surprised to us like this. He must think we change our skins or something. He came up to us with a happy look with his toothless smile. _"Hey Midnight!"_ I said as I patted his head fondly, "_Want to go see the Northern lights on the mountain boy?" _I asked. He grunted and cooed happily as I scrapped the basket onto the saddle.

"_But Thora, what about your dress? Won't it get ruined in the saddle?"_ Asgerd asked concerned_. "Don't worry, I got pants underneath my skirt in case of an unexpected situation."_ I said._ "I see."_ he said.

I lifted my skirt up to my thighs and got on Midnight swinging my right leg over him and into the right stirrup of his saddle. I let go of my skirt and it spread across the sides of Midnight. _"Okay, Asgerd, hop on!"_ I said. _"Okay."_ he said as he got behind me in the saddle. Then we flew out of the cove went to the top of the mountain to find the best seats to watch the spectacular northern lights.

I had never been up to the top of the mountain before. I had only been about a quarter of the way up. it was one of the times I snuck away, I was afraid if I got to the top and went back down, I wouldn't make it back in time and Papa found out that I was outside the village by myself.

When we arrived at the top, we landed on the edge that looked the safest to perch on. We slipped off Midnight and sat down on the ground next to Midnight's left side. I was careful not to mess up my skirt. We found out that it is colder the further up you are. It didn't seem so cold in the air when I'm flying. Midnight seemed to notice our shivering and put his left wing to cover our backs and shoulders. _"Thanks."_ I said as he started to munch on the fish we brought for him.

While we looked up at the sky, awaiting the spectacular sight, my mind starting thinking of the true colors of the aurora. _"What's wrong Thora?"_ Asgerd asked concerned. _"Well…you know that the aurora symbolizes the current health of the islands right."_ I stated. _"Yeah."_ he said, _"It even divided to sixteen sections, one for each island in the barbaric archipelago." _

_"Well, the aurora tonight won't be as spectacular tonight."_ I stated, "_The islands won't be the vigorous lands we all know and love without the dragon fire ashes. And we can't get the ashes until this whole war is over." "Don't worry." _Asgerd reassured, _"This war will end in peace and the archipelago will be healthier than ever before."_ I took comfort in his words and we both waited for the natural sky show to begin.

As we killed time for the aurora, we talked among ourselves and rearranged the stones on the ground; an orangish light with pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and reddish tints to it slowly appeared on the surface. We looked up and to our astonishment, we saw the Aurora with just about every color of the rainbow. I stood up to get a better look at the Northern lights.

However, the islands aren't to full health yet. They said when the aurora is golden in the background and all the colors are in sight, then the islands are healthy as a horse. Hopefully when and if this is all over, everyone will be able to enjoy the full beauty of the Aurora.

It was breathtaking; there were many different pillars of light in many different colors. Every now and again, we would see a form of either an animal or even a person. _"My mother's up there somewhere in the lights."_ I said. They said spirits of our ancestors are in the Northern Lights. _"Same as my dad."_ Asgerd stated as we both stared at the lit sky.

_"What was your dad like?"_ I asked curiously. _"Where to start?"_ he asked himself, _"He was the best warrior in my village. And the best ax handler in the entire I had always wanted to be like him." "It must have been really hard for you when he died."_ I stated. _"It was."_ he answered.

_"What was your mother like?"_ he asked. _"Well, I don't have many memories of her, but I remember she was had a very kind heart and she was probably more spirited than I am."_ I said. _"Somehow, I don't think that's possible."_ Asgerd stated shaking his head.

I ignored him and continued explaining. _"She always taught me to be true to myself, go after my dreams, and always… __**always**__ follow my heart."_ I said. _"She sounds like an amazing person." _Asgerd stated as we turned to face each other. _"Yeah, she was."_ I said. _"You know, as crazy as you can be, you're pretty amazing yourself."_ he said. I blushed at this comment. _"Well I'm half Viking and 'crazy' is what Vikings do best."_ I said. Then we leaned closer and our lips were about to make contract with each other, but unfortunately we were interrupted by a certain overgrown black retile's burp.

_**"EWWW! MIDNIGHT!"**_ I yelled as we both recovered from his fish breath. _**"ODOR, ODOR!"**_ Asgerd said holding his nose tightly. Midnight just gave a reptile chuckle with his signature toothless smile.

_"So, Thora, did you come up with anything yet?"_ Asgerd asked anxiously as we stood back up, dusting the dirt off of our clothes. Oh I dreaded this moment. But the festival is over so we would have to discuss it sooner or later. _"Yes, I figured I could show them a demonstration." _I said. _"What do you mean?"_ Asgerd asked worried.

_"At the final test, I'll be facing the Monstrous nightmare, the fear dragon in the world. And I just trained a Night Fury, the most feared dragon. Just the other day, I trained a Terror in about a minute."_ I explained, _"If I can do those things, then I might just tame a Nightmare with the proper training techniques I have discovered these past few weeks." _

"_Are you sure about this?"_ Asgerd asked concerned, _"The Nightmare's no newt." "I know it's a long shot, but I have to try."_ I said sure of myself. _"Alright, but I'll be there if you need me."_ he reassured me in case I was still unsure about this_. "You don't have to do that."_ I said, not wanting him to get in any danger because of me. _"Yes…I do."_ I said, _"Fine, he can help if necessary. For now, let's head back." _

We jumped back onto Midnight and flew back down to the cove. Once we landed, we jumped off to head back. _"Okay then, I'll stay here for a bit, you go on ahead."_ I said. _"Are you sure?"_ he asked. "_Sure I'm sure; I just want to talk to Midnight for a bit." _I said. "_Okay then, be careful, I'll see you tomorrow."_ he said leaving a peck on my left cheek. Probably to return the one I gave him yesterday. Then he turned around to leave.

"_Well, I'm taking a big chance tomorrow, so I might not come back. So, take this, in case something happens, you will have something to remember me."_ I said taking off my prize possession and putting it around Midnight's right front leg. I never let go of my locket, but I want to give a little something mine for him to remember me.

_"Well, I have to get going, so bye."_ I said. Then my eyes started filling with tears, and I flung my arms around his neck and cried for this might be the last time I'll see him. For awhile now, Midnight seems to be able to tell what I'm feeling without me telling him. He whined and wrapped his wings around me to comfort me.

After a while, I let him go, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Regrettably, I left the cove while giving Midnight one final glance. And he gave me a pitiful and very concerned look. It made me want to stay a little longer, but I have to go, because I have to do what I have to do tomorrow.

After a long and sorrowful walk and drying my tears so no one would get suspicious, I arrived back from the village. _"Did you see the Aurora tonight, Thora?"_ Gobber asked cheerfully, _"It was much healthier now. It was almost as healthy as it was when our ancestors first came here. They would be so tickled. What a perfect ending to the three hundred year anniversary of the founding of the Hairy Hooligan tribe. I have a feeling that something good is going to happen" "Um…yeah…"_ I said, not caring. _"Are you okay lass?"_ he asked concerned. _"Yeah, just fine."_ I answered, walking to my house to get all the rest I needed.

Papa will still be at the Great Hall with the rest of the adults, celebrating and drinking themselves silly, so he won't be at the house. I changed out of my festival clothes and into my nightgown and tried to get some sleep. Hopefully what Gobber feels is true and something good will happen. I guess I should leave it up to faith.

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_


	23. Chapter 23My Worst Nightmare

_***To clarify a small thing, a weapon made from dragon claws and fangs can't harm a dragon unless it is touched by the fire of the dragon it came from.**_

_**Please keep an open mind while you read this fanfiction. Give lots of reviews and comment what you like about this chapter.**_

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 23-My Worst Nightmare:**_

It was hot, like being right next to a Deadly Nadder flame, only hotter. I opened my eyes and sure enough, I was having the same nightmare again. If these nightmares are visions of a confrontment between me, Midnight, and the Red Death, I sure hope it won't be anything like this.

Papa and his fleet, Asgerd, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and a bunch of other dragons lying down on the ground, dead. I have a feeling that I'm suppose to face it alone.

I tried to move, but my body was stiff in pain and heat. I looked at myself and saw that I was wearing the same armor and holding the same sword, but I was covering in bleeding cuts and scratches of various sizes and there were a few patches of my armor that were on fire.

I also noticed that Midnight was flying very slowly. I looked down at him and noticed that he was in worst shape than I am. He was covered in large cuts oozing with his blood. I hope he hadn't gotten those wounds while protecting me.

A deafening roar echoed through this nightmare world. I looked ahead of me and saw the Red Death right in front of me. Being as injured as we are, we couldn't do anything. The monster gave us a swipe of its left claw and sent me off the saddle with Midnight falling to the black burnt ground as well.

We fall hard onto the ground and the Red Death was stomping towards Midnight. I tried to get to him, but my body wouldn't move, whether out pain or fear. The Red Death opened its mouth; it filled up with gas, and released a long heavy stream of fire at him. Midnight tried to fight back, but he couldn't and he ended up roaring in pain and anguish as he turned into ash before my eyes.

"_**NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOO!"**_ I screamed at the top of my lungs, sitting straight up in bed. Undoubtedly, that was the worse nightmare I had. I hope this wasn't a sign that things were about to take a turn for the worst.

Reluctantly, I got up and got ready for my final test. Today was to use all of what I have learned in my weapons classes to defeat the Nightmare. However I was going to do what I learned from training Midnight to calm it and try to bring peace to the world…or die trying.

I was wearing the best armor I could forge from the metals from the shop just in case something happens. I also brought my reformed armor helmet. Papa was probably near the arena getting ready for the speech he'll make before the test. Everyone probably is at the arena. Asgerd and the others will do their own demonstration of rounding up a dragon. I'm sure that Asgerd felt just as guilty as I was about that poor Nadder getting hurt.

Once that was over, Papa went in front of the gates to the great hall to make his speech. Everyone in the crowd was cheering saying _**"LEIF! LEIF! LEIF!"**_ which made me feel even sicker to my stomach as it is.

"_Who would have guess that young Leif Anderson would come from being huh… well 'Leif' to placing first in Dragon Training, well I would have tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear he gone mad!"_ Papa said, while the crowd's cheered.

"_But here we are, and no one's could be more surprised or more proud than his parents, his father especially."_ he said. Suddenly the felt the worst guilt I have ever felt in my life. One of the only things I ever wanted was for Papa to except me for who I am and here I was about to crush his expectations with my demonstration. But I have to do it; they have to know the truth. _"Today, this young man becomes a Viking, today he becomes one of us!"_ he exclaimed.

The crowds continued to cheer out my false name while I stood in the gateway of the arena waiting for whatever happens out there. _"Be careful with that dragon."_ Asgerd said. _"It's not the dragon I'm worried about, it's my father."_ I stated as Papa took a seat on his stone throne.

"_What are going to do to the Nightmare exactly?"_ he asked. _"I'm going to try to befriend it in order to put an end to this. I have to try."_ I stated as I turned around to face him, _"Asgerd, if something goes wrong, just make sure they don't find Midnight." "I will, just promise me it won't go wrong."_ he said.

Before I could say anything, Gobber appeared behind us. _"It's time Leif, knock him dead!"_ he said. I turned back to Asgerd to give him a peck on the cheek to tell him _'I'll try'_ then I put on my helmet and went inside to face my fate.

The cries and cheers of the crowd became louder as I walked in. even the other teenagers were there to cheer me on. This should be what I've always wanted, to be accepted by my people as a warrior, but it wasn't.

I went over to the weapon rack and pulled out a shield and pulled out my Dragon's Storm. It might be easier if I have a weapon made of dragon claws and fangs. _"I would have gone for the hammer."_ I heard Papa say.

I took a deep breathe and stepped towards the cage containing the Nightmare. _"I'm ready."_ I said, telling them to release the dragon. The thick vertical log blockade was lifted from the ground and in an instance, a flaming Nightmare came out.

It crawled on the walls and blew fire at the audience and luckily they got out of the way. It crawled up to chained ceiling and its fire jacket ceased, revealing it was a male. My eyes went wide in fear; he looked bigger than the one I faced before. I hope can handle him. He saw me and landed on the cobbled floor and slowly stalked his way towards me. _**"GO ON LEIF! GIVE IT TO HIM!"**_ I heard a random Viking say.

I slowly backed away and sheathed my sword and then dropped my shield. I was now completely defenseless. I held my hands out in front of him to prepare the _'magic touch'. "What is she doing?"_ Papa asked perplexedly.

This really stirred up the crowd and Asgerd got a little nervous. The Nightmare growled and snarled at me a bit as he continued to advance. _"No, it's okay! It's okay."_ I said. But he still unrelentingly walked towards me

I realized that I wasn't totally defenses. I took off my armor, let it drop to the ground, and then my helmet off and prayed for a bit of forgiveness and understanding to my grandfather in Valhalla. _"Like my father said, I'm many things, but a dragon killer isn't one of them."_ I stated throwing my helmet to the ground.

A large gasp came from the crowd. The Nightmare looked at my abandoned helmet and then back at me. Papa looked like he saw a wolf ignoring an injured lamb that was right in front of him alone. Asgerd looked at the crowd as they wondered if I knew what I was doing. _"What is he thinking?"_ a random Viking said.

_"Stop the fight!"_ Papa ordered getting up from his throne. _"No! You all have to see this."_ I said as looked at the crowd, Papa in particular and then back to the Dragon in front of me. It looks like he calming down a bit. _"They're not who we think they are. We don't have to kill them."_ I said as I was about to put my hand on the dragon's snout.

Everyone seemed eager to watch what will happen next. But Papa thought otherwise. _**"I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!"**_ he screamed as he slammed his spiked club against the bar caged, denting it.

The sound of the dented bar ranged through the arena, this made the once large pupils of the Nightmare turned into thin slits in seconds. Before I realized it, I involuntarily withdrew my hand and ran for my life. I guess dragons can also be startled by loud sounds like other animals.

As I ran towards the exit, hoping the gates would open for me. In his rage, the Nightmare shot his sticky lava fire at me. I tumbled to the right and screamed at the top of my lungs.

Back at the cove, Midnight was just dozing away. But then his ears perked up and he lifted his head in the direction of the sound, or rather the cry for help. He got up to his feet and prepared to help his friend.

I on the other hand was still running, sliding on the ground almost falling every now and again. _"Out of my way!"_ Papa said, pushing the bystanders in his path. _**"THORA!"**_ Asgerd yelled through the bars of the gate, not caring if anyone heard him.

He tried to lift the gate, but it was too heavy even for him. Then he saw an ax hanging by hooks on the wall and grabs it. He uses the hooked tip to pry the gate opened, wide enough for him to slip through, which succeeded.

Although, Midnight did this before, he was trying even harder this time. He was clawing at the walls of the cave furiously. He was determined to save his human comrade. But the walls were too steep for him and he still can't fly without his partner. But he managed to get to an edge and dug his claws into the hard stone. Finally, Midnight was free.

I was running left and right, right and left, trying to get as much distance between me and the Nightmare as much as possible. I stopped and turned to face the dragon as I pulled out my sword to protect myself. _"This will hurt me more than it will hurt you." _I said to myself.

I swung my sword at the dragon's left foreleg but somehow it didn't make a scratch on him. I don't get it, it was as smooth as silk against the wood, stone, and my finger, but it bounced off the dragon's skin. Then he trampled me and made me drop my sword. It did hurt me more than him.

In the woods, Midnight was running as fast as his short stubby legs could carry him. Every now and again, he would use his wings to built speed and get in the air for a short while. On his face, was one of blind rage.

Papa managed to reach the first gates of the arena and lifted them with no effort. _**"THORA!"**_ Asgerd yelled as the Nightmare was snapping at me. He grabbed his father's ax from his belt and was prepared to chop his head off. _**"NO ASGERD DON'T KILL HIM!"**_ I yelled.

When Asgerd stopped his ax from swinging at the dragon, the Nightmare snapped it out of his hand, breaking the blade in half vertical wise. That must be devastating to have his only memento of his late father break like that.

Papa came to the second gate and opened it the same way he opened the first gate. _**"THIS WAY!"**_ he yelled, signaling us to get out of the arena, FAST! Both of us immediately bolted to the exit. Asgerd was the first to get behind my father. I almost made it but the Nightmare shot his sticky lava fire at us, blocking my path, and jump in front of me. Luckily for Asgerd, my father covered him.

I ran away from the exit and the Nightmare and tripped on a loose cobble stone. This gave the Nightmare a chance to strike and he took it. He pounced and trapped me underneath his left claw, tearing a cut in my armor. He lowered his head and prepared to either bite my head off, or burn me into a crisp. Either way, I'm done for.

Then there was a loud familiar shrilling sound that rang through the hallway. All of the Vikings were nervous, and for a good reason, no one has heard that sound during the daytime.

Then blur of Midnight blue zipped towards the crowd and fired one of his flames at the gates, creating large amounts of smoke. A spark from Midnight's flame landed on the Dragon's Storm. Luckily, the crowd got out of the way in time. He went through the battered iron and landed on top of the Nightmare and started mauling and clawing at him, making him let go of me.

As I rolled out of the Nightmare's clutches, I failed to realize that my wig along with my hair ties was caught in his claws and was taken off as he was knocked to the ground, revealing my long loose hair. Midnight wasn't the only secret that will be exposed today.

Midnight and the Nightmare were tumbling out of the smoke still fighting each other. _"Night Fury."_ Gobber exclaimed as he saw him. As soon as the smoke cleared, everyone saw me. _"Isn't that the chief's daughter?"_ a random Viking asked another. I don't know what caused a larger ruckus, a Night Fury in plain daylight, or the daughter of their chief under the guise of a boy and have complete Viking training without them noticing. Either way there's no way out of this.

The Nightmare managed to buck Midnight off and get him underneath. But Midnight continued to claw and kicked him until he got off of him. The Nightmare got back on his feet and prepared to attack either me or Midnight. And Midnight was willing to be the one getting attacked as he placed himself in front of me. Going right and left to block the other dragon's attacks

Ruffnut and the others were awestruck at the sight that a dragon was defending a human, yet alone one from a Viking village. Midnight made a slight jump at the Nightmare, giving a him a warning roar. It must have convinced him because he was run off like a dog with his tail between his legs.

I got to get Midnight out of here. I got back up on my feet and went to Midnight. _"Alright Midnight, get out of here! __**GO!**__"_ I said trying to push him to get him away. All of the adults were jumping down from the viewing platform to save the chief's daughter and get a chance to kill a real living Night Fury in broad daylight. The situation was getting direr by the second. _**"GO! GO!"**_ I pleaded, pushing Midnight with all the strength I can muster.

Papa had his most serious face on and grabbed an ax from the wall on his right and charged at Midnight. _**"CHIEF STOICK, NO!"**_ Asgerd yelled, trying to stop him. But it was no use.

I get really anxious when Papa gets angry, but time; I've never been so scared in my life. He at this very moment was trying to kill my best friend. _**"NO FATHER! FATHER HE WON'T HURT YOU!"**_ I pleaded.

Midnight saw Papa and his eyes narrowed dangerously again. He must think he was a threat. He left my side and charged at Papa hitting and bashing any other Viking that got in his way with tail and his body. _**"NO MIDNIGHT YOU'RE ONLY MAKING THINGS WORST!"**_ I pleaded. But Midnight ignored me and kept bashing the others.

I think I know what he's doing; he's going through the black rage. It's when a dragon gets so angry, scared, or confused it attacks everything in its sight. Having me in danger and with all the Vikings around, no wonder he's lost it.

When Papa was about to strike Midnight, but he jumped him and pinned him to the ground. _**"MIDNIGHT STOP!"**_ I yelled. Then reared his head, his mouth hissing with the sound of gas filling up, he was about to burn my father to death. Even though he can be a pain in the neck and puts on stress and expectations on me, but he is still my only Papa. I had already lost Mama; I don't want to lose him too.

For the first time, Papa had a look of fear and dread on his face as he was about to face a fiery death by the hands or claws of my best friend. _"No, no, __**NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOO!"**_ I yelled. Fortunately, Midnight stopped immediately and turned towards me and gave me a pitiful look as I looked like I was about to cry any minute. Which I probably would.

"_**GET HIM!"**_ a random Viking yelled, hitting Midnight on the side of his face. Briefly stunned, then they rushed him and knocked him to the ground with many others coming towards him to hold him down, snout and body. While the others went to put the Monstrous Nightmare.

"_**NO PLEASE DON'T HURT HIM!"**_ I yelled, trying to get to Midnight. But Asgerd stopped me. _"No Thora! Don't there's nothing you can do at this point."_ Asgerd said holding me back as we both were fighting tears.

Papa got back up and observed the sight before him. With that messy hair, he looked even angrier. Midnight glared back at him in frustration as if to say, _'You're lucky Thora made me spare you.' "Put it with the others."_ he ordered the others as he grabbed me by the back of my shirt. I could only watch on helplessly as I dragged out of the arena as Midnight was thrown into the empty cage.

I was thrown onto the hard cobbled floor of the Great Hall as Papa opened the door. _"I should have known, I should have seen the signs!"_ he exclaimed angrily as he walked pass me without looking at me. _"Father…"_ I try to say, but once again, it didn't come in edgewise. _**"WE HAD A DEAL!"**_ he yelled. _"I know we did, but that was before…"_ I exclaimed a little louder. This time I have to get him to listen.

"_So everything in the ring was a trick? A lie?"_ he asked angrily feeling betrayed. _"Things are different now! Take this out on me, be mad at me, punish me, but DON'T hurt Midnight!"_ I said. _"You named it?!"_ Papa asked. _"Yes."_ I said bluntly, my eyes narrowing. _"A dragon? The Night Fury? That's what you're worried about? Not the people you almost got killed today?"_ he said.

"_That dragon was just protecting me from the Nightmare whom was scared by your outburst when I was just about to calm it down. He or any other dragon is not dangerous. In fact, the island needs them."_ I stated. _"Oh that's a laugh! We need dragons for the island to be healthy!"_ he sarcastically joked.

"_Look, why do you think the islands have been dying since we drove the dragons off the islands?"_ I asked desperately, _"That's because they give what the islands need to survive. __**YOU MUST NOT KILL ALL THE DRAGONS!**__"_

"_**THEY'VE KILLED HUNDREDS OF US!"**_ Papa shouted. _**"AND WE HAVE KILLED THOUSANDS OF THEM."**_ I shouted back. He just passed back and forth ignoring me, but I need to get through to him. _"I raid from us because they have to. If they don't get enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves. There's a monster worst than a dragon on their island, a Red…"_ I tried to explain. But a word starting with _'I' _caught Papa's attention and not in a good way.

"_An island? So you been to their nest?"_ he asked as he walked towards me, interested. _"No I said island, not nest, they're two totally different things."_ I stated trying to cover my slip up. But Papa wasn't buying it. _"How did you find it?"_ he asked. _"I didn't Midnight did; only a dragon can find it."_ I said.

That was mistake number three I made today, because he had a look in his eyes, a look I knew that would get him and the rest of men in the village killed. _"No, no father, this is what you think; it's like nothing you have ever seen."_ I said getting desperately at the moment. He just pushed me away and started to walk towards the entrance of the Great Hall. _"Father I promised that you can't win this one."_ I said. But he didn't listen. _"Father no!__** PLEASE! FOR MAMA'S SAKE, FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, WOULD YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME!?"**_ I yelled as I tried to hold him back by his left arm.

He snapped at that statement as he removed his arm from my grasp and slapped me in the face. That was when I hit the ground hardest. I got back up into a sitting position and felt pain in both sides of my face. There was a stinging pain in my left cheek, but on my right cheek there was a small stream of blood. I looked down and saw blood on the corner of a loose cobble stone. I must have cut it on there.

I looked back at my father, but in that moment, as he faced me, he was more like a revengeful, merciless, and angry god than a father. Then he said the worst thing he ever said to me. _"You thrown in your lot in with them. You're not a Viking… your not my daughter."_ he said coldly as he turned around and walked away from me.

That could only mean one thing. He disowned me, which by Viking law, also meant that I was banished from the village. I have always known that I was a disappointment to him, but I never expected that he would renounce me as his daughter. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, the only reason he was proud of me is because I became the ideal _'son'_ he always wanted. I never belonged here anyway since the day I was born and this proves it. the tears that have been held back for all these years since Mama died, have finally fallen out, stinging my wounds. But the ones inside can not be healed.

As Papa…no Stoick, came out of the Great Hall. Asgerd was standing outside; he had seen and heard everything that went inside. _"How could you do that to your own daughter?!"_ Asgerd asked angrily. _"As I stated, she's not my daughter."_ Stoick said. _"She was trying to do what's best for the whole village, by ending the war with as little lost of life as possible. She was trying to show you that there's another way!"_ Asgerd stated. _"She is a traitor to the village!"_ he said stubbornly.

"_Let me tell you something. Me and my mom left our old village to escape a chief like you."_ Asgerd said. _"How dare you."_ Stoick said, his eyes narrowing. _"Shouldn't a leader listen to his people, not ignore them?"_ Asgerd asked. _"That's enough!"_ Stoick bellowed. _**"THORA TEN TIMES THE WARRIOR YOU WILL EVER BE!"**_ Asgerd yelled. _"If you don't want to get banished as well, then I suggest you stay out of my way."_ Stoick said as he walked off.

As Stoick walked to the docks to prepare for the final battle, he saw Grandma…no Gothi, who was giving a sad, angry, and disappointed look. But he just continued walking. Once he was out sight of others, he stood for awhile with a look that clearly showed the most guilt he had ever felt in his life. He shook it off and ordered men to prepare for the final battle.

After crying for five minutes, I ran out of the Great Hall, passed Asgerd and Gothi, and into the forest, which is the only placed where I belong at this moment. I ran and ran until I could run no further and I cried until there were no more tears left in my eyes.

I looked around and saw that I was at my mother's grave near a cliff, this was her favorite spot on the island, and this is where she could see the horizon for miles around. I haven't been here in months. I usually come here when I'm really upset. My memories of my six short years with her started to flash in front of my eyes. _"Mama."_ I said to myself. If there was anytime I needed her the most, it would be right now. I thought I dried up all my tears, but upon seeing Mama's gravestone, newly refurnished sobs escaped my mouth.

After twenty some minutes of crying, I heard shouts and grunts from below. I looked down and saw that the men were preparing for the final battle. All the ships were being occupied, all the catapults and battling rams were being loads, and the weapons were tossed onboard. Every able bodied man was going, even Gobber. Meanwhile, the women were with the children. They would be completely vulnerable while the men are away.

Midnight was at the decks now, he was on a board, underneath two iron arcs, and he was muzzled. Two men pulled on the ends of the same rope that made him lower his head, and two more put a yolk around his neck that were connected to the first arc.

Then he was lifted by a pulley contraption that lifts the catapults onto the ships. He struggled with all his might but he wasn't able to break free as he was lifted onto Stoick's ship. And all I can do is watch him helplessly.

Stoick got onto his ship as Midnight was set up front of the boat. _"Set sail! We move to Helheim's Gate!"_ Stoick ordered. For a moment, he saw me on the cliff. I saw him too and turned my head away and he did the same. He headed to the front where Midnight was and gave him a glare. _"Lead us home, monster!"_ he said darkly.

Then every ship in the dock left onto the horizon and I just kept looking at them until they disappeared on the horizon. Another stray tear slid down my cut cheek. Then Asgerd came up to my right. _"What are you doing here?"_ I asked not looking at him; my eyes still filled my tears. It was disgrace to show tears to others here, I have already disgraced myself enough being banished in all.

"_I just wanted to see if you were alright."_ he answered. _"Look someone like you shouldn't be seen with a banished person like me!"_ I yelled as I turned to face him. _"I don't care about the rules and traditions anymore."_ Asgerd said, _"What matters to me more right now, is you, Thora." _

Unable to hold it in anymore, I immediately starting sobbing and threw myself at him, burying my face in his chest and threading my fingers into his shirt. Asgerd put his chin on top of my head and wrapped his arms around me to calm me down. He rocked me back and forth and rubbed my back and head as I continued to sob uncontrollably until I finally calmed down a bit.

"_Sorry really sorry about your father's ax."_ I said, wiping my tears away. _"I'm more worried about what will happen to the men than my ax right now. I can have it fixed when this thing is over."_ he said. _"If any of us get through this."_ I stated as I stared back on the horizon. Asgerd did the same and looked at Mama's grave.

"_I'm really sorry about this. You must feel horrible. You lost everything, your mother, your father, your tribe, and your best friend."_ he said. _"Not helping."_ I said. _"Sorry."_ he said. And we continued to look on the horizon.

"_Why didn't I just kill that dragon when I found him in the woods or at least left him. It would have been better for anyone…"_ I said._ "Yep, the rest of us would have done it, so why didn't you?"_ Asgerd asked. But I didn't answer. _"Why didn't you?"_ he asked again.

"_I don't know, I couldn't."_ I answered. _"That's not an answer."_ he stated. _"Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?"_ I asked. _"Because I want to remember what you say right now."_ he answered. _"Oh brother, look I was a coward, I was weak, I wouldn't kill a dragon."_ I answered. _"You said 'wouldn't' that time."_ he stated.

"_What difference does it make, I just wouldn't. Three hundred years and I'm the first person from a Viking village that wouldn't kill a dragon."_ I said as I turned around my arms crossed. We just stood there silently for a few seconds, and then Asgerd broke it with a statement that made me realize why I didn't do it.

"_First to befriend, tame, and ride one though."_ Asgerd added. Then my mind flashed to that moment. I remember the helplessness, the fear, and the loneliness in Midnight's eyes. The loneliness of not feeling that you belong anywhere, probably the same feeling I have been feeling my whole life; he was the same as me.

"_So…?"_ he asked again. _"I didn't kill him because he was just as scared as I was, he was just as alone as I was, I looked at him and I saw myself in him."_ I answered I turned back to him. His eyes lit up at my answer. _"I bet he's really scared now, what are you going to do about it?"_ he asked. _"I'm not sure. I don't think there's anything we can do."_ I answered hanging my head low.

"_What's that?"_ Asgerd asked. _"I said…"_ I tried to answer. _"No, what's that behind you?"_ he corrected me, pointing to what's behind me. I turned towards the direction he was pointing to. There was a floating blue light that looked like it was surrounded by lightning. It was zipping back and forth as if it wanted us to follow it. Something's telling me we should.

"_I think it wants us to show us something."_ I said. _"What makes you so sure?"_ he asked. _"I don't know, I just know."_ I answered. Then the strange little thing zipped away from us. _"Follow it!"_ I yelled and we followed it into the woods.

Somehow along the way, I lost track of Asgerd. I stopped to try to find him, but he was no where to be seen. I looked back at the blue light and it was zipping back and forth as if it was waiting for me. I somehow have a feeling that it only wants me to follow it. And so I did, hopefully it will help me with saving the lives of my best friend, Stoick, and the men of the village.

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_


	24. Chapter 24-The Armlet of Thor

_**Please keep an open mind while you read this fanfiction. Give lots of reviews and comment what you like about this chapter.**_

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 2**____**-The Armlet of Thor**_

I went deeper and deeper into the forest following the strange little light. I kept following as fast as I could, trying not to lose it. And just as I stopped to catch my breath, I looked up and saw that it was floating in front of the large idol of Thor that the forefathers have constructed then they finished building the village. Why did it bring me here?

Wonder if it's possible if I can get help from the gods. Will something happen if I pray to Thor. In any case, I got to at least try; it might be the only way to save everyone. And possibly, stop this war.

I got on my knees and prayed out loud so they might hear me better. _"O mighty gods, please, I need your help. My father has taken my best friend, who's a dragon, he taking him to the dragon's nest, but there's a monster there that will kill them all. Please give me your wisdom."_ I pleaded.

Then suddenly, my eyes turned gold. The next instant, I was in a room filled with light and there were many empty golden thrones arranged in a circle around a large mirror in the center of the room. _"Where am I? Valhalla?"_ I asked myself. _"I wouldn't say Asgard is Valhalla per say."_ I heard a female voice say. _"Who said that?"_ I asked.

_"Try looking up."_ the voice suggested. I did as the voice said and saw that the thrones weren't empty anymore. There were giant men and women, all in beautifully adorned clothing. They looked like royalty from another country.

_"Whoa."_ I said stunned. _"Welcome, Thora Diana Haddock."_ the one in the grandest throne said. _"How do you know my name? Who are you?"_ I asked. _"Don't you recognize us from the wall your Great Hall?"_ the man next to the oldest man asked.

I thought about it for a moment and then it hit me like a catapult. _"We're in Asgard aren't we and you're the gods!"_ I exclaimed. _"Indeed." _Sif stated. _"Why I'm a here?" _I asked. _"Straight to the point, you are need in of a push in the right direction for the task we have ahead of you."_ Thor said.

"_Why would we have a task for me?"_ I asked perplexed. _"Because you are one of my chosen children."_ Odin announced. _"The ones that are chosen to do tasks for you. I heard about them."_ I said, _"Not to be rude, but why don't you do this 'task' yourselves?" _I questioned. _"Well, you see, we can't manifest ourselves in the human world, so we need Odin's Chosen Children to do these tasks for us."_ Odin explained. _"Okay, but what task am I supposed what to do?"_ I asked. _"To defeat the Red Death of course."_ Thor answered.

I stood there frozen like a wild boar facing a dragon that breathing fire at it. They can not, repeat; can not be serious about this. How can I face a force like that? Could this be what my dreams were telling me about? That I'm a Chosen Child and I have to defeat it?

_"What is the Red Death anyway?"_ I asked. _"The Red Death is a monster created by the gods of death and the other gods of chaos and discord. It is one of their servants." _Sif explained. _"I have sealed the monster within that volcano, and so it has remained there. But about three hundred years ago, my dragons left the islands they lived on by the Vikings who have settled there and they made sealed island their new home. But the Red Death was there and they were afraid of the outside world because of the Vikings so they had no choice but to serve the Red Death."_ Thor said. _"Poor dragons, they are worst off than we are. At least we don't have a horrible tyrant threatening us with our own lives."_ I said.

_"Wait a minute! Your dragons?"_ I asked, worried that my people has created a terrible offense to them. _"Yes, the dragons are my creations."_ Odin informed. _"Oh no! I am so sorry! There is no way to pay to this horrible transgression towards you!"_ I said on my hands and knees. _"For the record, we can not someone if they do not know what upsets us; it wouldn't be quite fair if they don't know the wrongdoing. One job as a Chosen Child is to relay messages between the two worlds, so they don't repeat those offenses in the future."_ he informed. _"I see."_ I said.

_"There's more, it has an evil aura that contains a poisonous essence in its breath which is the cause of a deadly sickness, the same sickness that killed half of your village and your mother."_ Freya informed. _"What? This monster is not just the reason behind this pointless war, but the reason my mother is gone?!"_ I asked.

_"Yes, also the dragons have not been bringing it food just so they can keep living another day, but to prevent it from trying to break through the seal. But if the men of your village managed to break through the seal, the Red Death will break out and wreak havoc upon the rest of the world. Much more than sickness will be the least of everyone's problems."_ Odin stated.

"_But why me, I was a nobody in my former village and now I'm an outcast. I can't help. I'm half English anyway. And what's worst, a dragon lover. What help can I be?"_ I said ashamed. _"It is because you are half English and a dragon lover that we need you."_ Odin stated. _"What do you mean by that?"_ I asked. _"By having something other than Viking blood in your veins, you have a different viewpoint from the others, intelligence, patience, resort-fullness, leadership, compassion, and mercy. Characteristics we need for this task." _he answered.

"_Look in the mirror in the middle of the room, child and tell me what you see inside."_ Frigg said. I walked towards the mirror and look in, all I see was my reflection. Then all of sudden, the mirror wavered like a drop disturbing a still surface of water. Various images of my life played on the mirror.

I saw images of me with Mama; the lessons she taught me, work and play we did together, and support she gave me. Then I saw my hard work in the forge, my secret adventures in the forest, secretly practicing my skills as a warrior. My mercy to save Midnight and bringing him back to health from losing his left tailfin and the wolf attack, and helping him to fly again. _"These are all of the great things you have accomplished, the accomplishments that made you who you are today."_ Odin said.

"_If you won't do this for us or yourself, do it for your loved ones."_ Freya insisted. I thought about Gobber, Ruff, Papa, Asgerd, Midnight, and Mama, although she is no longer with me, she is still here. Freya's right, I have to stop the Red Death, for Mama, for the dragons, for the Village, for Papa, For Midnight, and for those who have lost their lives.

"_What do I have to do?"_ I asked, accepting the task. _"Come forward child."_ Thor commanded. I came in front of him and kneeled on my knee. _"Raise your right arm."_ he said. I did and before I knew it there was a bright surrounding my right wrist. It was so bright; I had to shield my eyes with my left hand. When the light subsided and I removed my hand from eyes, I was stunned what I saw.

On a thick golden armband engraved with thunderbolts and the sun and moon, with a beautiful white stone with various colors swirling around in it. _"The Aurora stone, I thought it was a myth."_ I exclaimed. _"This stone is very real, and it will transform your weapon into any weapon you chose." _Frigg said, _"Only a true heir to a chief who is a true leader with a pure heart can touch the stone and use its powers." "Thank you, I will use it well."_ I said, bowing in respect.

"_You best set off; I see that it will take three days to get to the island."_ Odin said. _"Why three days? How can you tell?"_ I asked perplexed. _"The island is not attached to the ocean bottom and so it drifts on the sea surface constantly."_ he explained. _"That explains why the men return at such random times."_ I said. _"Indeed, now go and fulfill your destiny."_ Thor said in a thunderous voice.

The next thing I knew, I was back in the forest, but this time I had the Aurora stone on my wrist. Well, now I know why I was born, now all I have to do is to save the world. Only problem is, that is way too big a job for just one person.

Then I heard a similar squeal and scaly skin. I turned to my right and saw a familiar little Terror. _"Terry, what are you doing here?"_ I asked as I picked him up. He just chirped and gave me big puppy dog eyes. _"By any chance did you come to help me?" _I asked. He nodded his head with a purr. _"Thanks, because I'm definitely gonna need all the help I can get."_ I said.

"_Thora! Are you alright?"_ Asgerd said as he came running to me. _"Asgerd."_ I said. _"Sorry, I lost you at a turn of one of the trees. They all look the same you know."_ he said, and then he paused for a second, _"What's that?"_ I looked and saw Terry in my arms. _"Oh this is Terry; he's another dragon friend of mine."_ I answered. _"That answers my second question, now answer the real first one."_ he said.

What does he mean by that? I looked and realized he must mean the Aurora Stone. _"Oh this is the Aurora stone."_ I answered, wondering if he would believe me. _"Get out of town!"_ he exclaimed, _"Not literally of course."_ Seeing that I was already banished. I nodded my head to reassure him. _"How did you get it?"_ he asked astonished.

I explained everything to him about the Gods, the Red Death, the Dragons, and the dreams I have been having, and me being a Chosen Child. _"That's really explains quite a lot of things. So, continuing my question from before this little divine intervention. What are you going to do about it?"_ Asgerd asked. I thought about it for awhile, and couldn't really think of anything. _"Probably something stupid."_ I said, just throwing ideas around. _"Good, but you've already done that."_ he said.

Then a real idea came to mind. _"Then something crazy."_ I said, _"Come on Terry, we are going to get a few friends of yours."_ Me and Terry jolted back to the direction of the village with Asgerd watching on. _"That's more like it."_ he said as he headed to the village in another direction. I what I didn't know at the time was that Asgerd was going to bring me all the help I was going to need.

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you mig\ht just like them as well.**_


	25. Chapter 25-The Long Journey Ahead of us

_**Please keep an open mind while you read this fanfiction. Give lots of reviews and comment what you like about this chapter.**_

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 25-The Long Journey Ahead of us**_

I ran as fast I could to the village, but I slowed down when I got to the edge. I'm an outcast now, so I have to be careful. But I have two things to my advantage; one I have experience with sneaking in and out of the village from and to the forests without people seeing me or being suspicious of me most of the time, and two all of the available men in the village have left the village to find the nest. All that's left is the women, the elderly, the children, and of course the teenagers. And over half of the village consents of the men that left, so it would be easier now than before.

Like I have done many times before, I went between houses, ducked behind carts, boxes, baskets, and so forth, and dash from one faraway hiding spot to the next. Eventually, I made it to the Dragon Ring and snuck in right up to the cage of the Nightmare. I hope I won't have the same result as this morning. Papa… Stoick's not here so he won't scare him again.

"If you're going to get eaten, I definitely go with the Gronkle." a voice said. I turned around and saw Asgerd with the other teens. "Um…Asgerd, why are they here?" I asked worried that they saw an outcast in the Ring. "I explained the whole thing to them. They were perplexed about the most feared dragon protecting the daughter of a Viking chief before I came looking for you. They came to help." he said.

"They did?" I said surprised as they would actually help their classmate that was lying to them and the girl that they would usually pick on. "Yeah, if a dragon actually tried to protect a girl from a Viking village, then he can't be that bad." Ruffnut said.

"Look, Ruff…nut, I'm really sorry about keeping this from you." I said. "Well, I was hurt about it, but I was more confused when I saw the dragon that supposed to be the deadly offspring of lightning and death itself protect you from that Nightmare, but Asgerd explained everything about what is going on. So I understand now why you did it, so I forgive you." Ruffnut said. "Thank you, Ruffnut." I said. "But don't keep me out of the loop next time, the whole dressing as a boy thing was more than enough secret, and call me 'Ruff.'" She said.

"You knew about this?" Tuffnut asked. "Only about her being disguised as a boy." She answered, "Anyway, you just got help from the world's most deadly weapon, me." "I don't doubt that." I said.

"I love this plan!" Snotlout said after he pushed Ruff out of the way. "I didn't say my plan yet." I stated. "Oh…" he said. Same old Snotlout, always leaps before he looks, that doesn't surprise me. What does surprises me is that he's willing to help me. SeeingMidnight protecting me must have really changed his tune.

Then Tuff pushed Snotlout out of the way. "You're crazy." he said. That's more of what I had expected to hear from them. "I like that." he said in a whisper. Okay, why I do feel like he's flirting with me? "Easy there Tuff." Ruff said as she pulled him away.

"So, what is the plan?" Asgerd asked, after giving a weird look to Tuff, which made him back off. "Okay look everyone, we don't have much time. There's dragon called the Red Death that makes the Monstrous Nightmare look like a small lizard, and it will destroy the entire world unless we get to the dragon nest and stop it." I said.

"What are we going to do about it?" Ruff asked. "Call me insane, first we need to get the dragons out of their cages." I said. "Well, I think someone already beaten you to it." Fishlegs said, pointing behind.

I turned around and saw Terry clawing at the door with the Terrible Terror. "That's another dragon friend of mine. His name's Terry." I explained. Then I walked over to him. "What's wrong?" I asked, "Do you want the other Terror to come out?" "Are you crazy?" Fishlegs asked, "She nearly tore off Tuff's nose." "Thanks for reminding me." Tuff pouted as he covered his nose with his hands. "She won't hurt us if we aren't hostile." I said.

I opened the door and the formerly imprisoned Terror tackled Terry and licked his face. "What's that about?" Ruff asked perplexed. "It looks like those two are siblings or something." I said. "I think I'll called her Jade, because she's so green."

I looked at them for a while and thought for a bit. "You know, I think they can help us." I said. "What use would those pipsqueaks have?" Snotlout asked. "Plenty, if you know how to use their strengths." I said annoyed, knowing how it feels to be misjudged. "Like what?" Ruff asked. "Like they can be lookouts, if I trained them to do different tasks." I said.

"Anyway I better start with the Nightmare again." I said. "After what it almost killed you?" Ruff asked. "'He' only attack because Pa… Stoick scared him with that bang against the cage. If everyone just drop all their weapons out of arm's reach and show no hostility, then he calm down." I explained. "Alright, if you can handle the most feared dragon in the world, then you can handle that Nightmare. You were pretty close to taming him." she said.

Everyone hesitantly dropped all their weapons and I took a deep breath and slowly opened the door to the Nightmare's cage. He was startled at first, he was growling as much as he did before the whole incident. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm really sorry about before, my fath…the chief doesn't know the truth about you guys like I do." I said in a soft voice, "I want to help your kind, since my best friend is a dragon as well, I can fight the Red Death."

He still wouldn't calm down, what else can I do? Then I thought of something, when the chief was angry at someone for being disrespectful, it helped for the offender to bow down to him in respect to calm him down. It wouldn't hurt to try. I bowed down as far as I could, hoping he would show some mercy. I looked up and was awe-strucked, he was bowing to me in return for my respect. I guess what goes around comes.

"Anyway, come with me, there are some people I want you to meet." I said. I felt out my hand in front of his snout and after a while he touched his snout to my hand. Then I backed out of the cage with the Nightmare following my lead.

The others, save Asgerd, were even more stunned than when I drove back the Zippleback. Snotlout was not looking so brave as he told himself to be. He saw a broken tip of a spear and picked it up in caution. Asgerd hit him in the shoulder and shook his head. So Snotlout, put down the spear and stood back up.

I kept leading the Nightmare towards the others and thought about how to show them further that dragons are gentler than they let on. It may sound like a crazy idea within a crazy idea, but perhaps I could show Snotlout first. Other than Asgerd, he considered the leader of the group, no matter how difficult he can be.

When I got to the group, I took Snotlout's left wrist and began to bring it to the Nightmare's snout. "HEY WHAT ARE YOU…" he yelled, which startled the dragon for a moment. Luckily, I calmed him down. "It's alright, you just have to keep your voice down and let his snout touch your hand." I said in a soft voice. I slowly brought Snotlout's hand to the dragon and he rested the tip of his snout against Snotlout's palm, making a purring sound.

Snotlout stood there astonished and laughed a bit as the Nightmare continue to purr. As he was admiring the dragon, I took measurements of his neck and snout. "This is pretty awesome, I think I'll call him, Hookfang, because his fang looks like a hook." Snotlout said, "Where are you going?" I had left Snotlout to Hookfang to release the other dragons.

First was the Gronkle, it was easy to lead her out, and I figured that Fishlegs would be a good riders. Both of them took to each other easily as I measured her. He named her Meatlug, which seemed appropriate, but for some reason he thinks she's a boy. Is he going to be in for a surprise later on.

The twins were really excited for the Zippleback, which only seemed the only kind of dragon for them, since they are two sides of the same coin in a way and fight nearly twenty four seven.. Takes one to know one, or in this case, take two to know two. The dragon's heads kept fighting each other which made it hard for me to measure them.

"I think we should call him Barf." Ruff said. "No way, we should call him Belch." Tuff argued. "What kind of name is Belch?" Ruff asked. "Well what gave you the idea to name him Barf?" Tuff countered. It was like that for a minute or two. Both of the twins yelling, "Barf, Belch, Barf, Belch." Pushing each other nose to nose. Then I pushed them apart, fed up with this fight. "Cut it out you two! Why don't you call the head that breathes gas Barf, and the head that sparks Belch. Those actions does seem to fit their breathing techniques." I said. "Good enough!" the twins said in unison.

"Guess that leaves you with the Nadder." I said. "Fine by me, she looks like a fighter to me, and I'm going to need a fighter in this adventure." he said. "What are you going to name her?" I asked. "Let's see, how about Stormfly?" he suggested. "Why Stormfly?" I asked out of curiosity on how he came up with such an original name as I measured her. "Well, because it looks like he can fly through even the harshest storms.

"Okay, now that we got the dragons out here. We got work to do." Thora said. "What do you mean?" Snotlout said, not liking where this is going. "We have three days to get there, and I'm afraid we might have to waste up to one of them preparing for the long journey ahead us. We need to gather supplies, make special equipment, gas made of dragon nip and eel to subdue the Red Death, something to block out the sound so the dragons can't hear the loud noises, weapons, shields, and armor for ourselves and the dragons, and I have to teach you to ride the dragons.

"Whoa, hold up! You want to gather the necessary supplies for a treacherous journey into a monster's lair, while riding dragons that our ancestors have been fighting for generations?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "Yeah you have to admit, some things don't just happen in a snap." Tuff said. "For once I agree, it probably took you way more than one day you for to get Midnight to let you ride him." Ruff said. "I bet I can put Hookfang in his place." Snotlout boasted. Then Hookfang gave him a warning snap of his fangs. "On second thought, they're right. It's impossible!" he corrected himself. Asgerd then gave me a look that said, "They need a little inspiration."

"Impossible you say? Well let me tell you…" I said, standing on top of a wooden box that was left in the ring, _"All my life, people have told me that I don't have what it takes to be a warrior, but the gods said that I have the spirit of a true warrior. Our people have said that heroes are born. Others said that heroes are made. But the time I had spent with Midnight made me realized that everyone is born to be a hero and do the impossible, but we have to work to become those heroes. All six of us have what it takes to be heroes. The training we have endured has made us what we are today. Even if we lose all of our strength in our own muscles, the strength within our hearts will take over. And it is that inner strength that is more powerful than all the muscles in our bodies. Together, we can destroy the cause of this war and end it once and for all. You probably think I'm not worthy of being the leader of this group. I admit it, I don't even think that I'm worthy enough. However, I have done something that no Viking has ever dared to do. I have befriended, tame, tended, fed, and rode a dragon beyond the skies. They probably say that can't be acceptable especially since they thought it was impossible to train and ride their worst enemy, but they probably didn't have the courage to try. I have done it. I confess that I have dreamed of flying most of my life, and that just true. If I can do that, we can do this task ahead of us. For three hundred years, we have fought the dragons. Our fists against their claws, our swords against their fangs. But no more! Together, with our new friends the dragons, we'll defeat the Red Death and save our home and our future. __**FIST AND CLAW AND SWORD AND FANG!"**_

_**"FIST AND CLAW AND SWORD AND FANG!"**_ Asgerd exclaimed. _**"FIST AND CLAW AND SWORD AND FANG!"**_ the others said. "Alright then, let's get going! We have a lot of things to do before tomorrow. "Ruff you teach Tuff to shoot from faraway, and Tuff you teach Ruff to shoot moving objects. You two will need those skills you have to face that monster." I said, "Fishlegs, Snotlout, you gather the supplies, I made a list of what we need will need. Asgerd you bring the dragons to the cove, I know you can do that."

"Alright then, Captain Thora." Asgerd said. "Wait a minute, why is she captain?" Snotlout asked. "Well let's make a list. She's loyal, brave, clever, humble, and thinks things though." Asgerd stated. "She has a sense of direction." Fishlegs said. "She's a better aim." Ruff said. "She's much better looking." Tuff said. We all looked at him at that remark. "Well it's true." he argued.

"Anyway, we'll keep the dragons in the cove. Once we finish the weapons, shields, armor, and equipment, we join them in the cove. Asgerd make sure you stay with the dragons and keep them safe." I said. "On it!" he exclaimed.

"Okay, we need to gather burdock roots, clovers, ginger roots, mayweed, myrrh, sage, seaweed, thistle, valerian roots, acetylene, ammonium, fire elixir, heptane, hydrazine, kerosene gel, magnesium, air stones, phosphorus, azurite, copper ore, gold nuggets, iron ore, moldavite, platinum ore, quartz, rubies, sulfur, carrots, turnips, bear meat, bugs, boar meat, mussels, fish, chicken, sheep meat, leather, sewing string, scrap metal, large baskets, cloaks, welding and forging tools, dragon teeth, claws, and scales sorted by dragon species, eel ,and um… dragon nip?" Fishlegs said after examining the list. "Are you making that up?" Snotlout asked, trying to get under my skin, probably due to frustration of not being leader. "It a thin tall grass in a clearing near Odin's cliff." I said. "Got it!" Fishlegs said.

"While you do that, I'll get ready to make the armor and weapons, as well as some other needs that we once Fishlegs and Snotlout bring back the supplies." I said, "Please come back as soon as possible." "What's the hurry?" Snotlout foolishly asked. "The 'Hurry' is that we must get things done by today if we want to leave tomorrow. The sooner we finish these tasks, the sooner we can rest up for tomorrow to save the men, who have gone off to face an enemy that cannot be beaten!" I explained, nearly snapping.

"So, don't waste any time!" Asgerd said with a menacing glare. "Yeah whatever!" Snotlout said as he leave. "Move!" Asgerd snapped. "Maybe I should go with them, just in case." he said. "A good idea, Go to Odin's Cliff after you take the dragons to the cove." I said. "Right.' he said.

Once everyone went to do their separate assignments, I started for the forge, being careful not to let everyone outside the circle see me. Along the way, I braided my hair into a braid to keep the hair away my face. Several minutes later, I arrived at the forge and I started to stoke the fire to prepare to make the weapons.

I waited for what seemed like hours, Snotlout better not be goofing off at a time like this. After a minute or two, they finally showed up. "What took you?" I said, nearly snapping. "Snotlout kept going the wrong way, saying it was a shortcut." Asgerd said with a glare. "Like your way was going to be faster." he protested. "You kept going in the wrong direction!" Asgerd stated.

"Did you get the stuff I called for?" I asked in a stern voice. "Yes we did, although Snotlout's recent shortcuts wasn't the only thing that slowed us down, he kept grabbing the wrong plant or rock and refuse to admit he was wrong!" Asgerd said with a glare. "Anyway, now I can get started on the equipment. Just leave the eel, leather, dragon nip, scrap metal, sewing kit, welding and forging tools, dragon teeth, scales, and fangs here, and take the other supplies to the cove." I said. "Aye aye, Captain Thora!" Asgerd said giving a salute, "And I'll look after the others." Then he led Snotlout and Fishlegs to the cove since he knows the way.

First, I got started on the eel and dragon nip. I had accidently found out that eel have a paralyzing effect on dragon who get it in their system like through smell or taste and the dragon nip has a calming effect on them, so I am going to make a powder that mixes the effects together. I dried the eel to get most of the moisture out and then crushed them together with the dragon nip. Once the powder was finished, I put them in a bag and set them aside until I was done.

Next are the masks that will protect our dragons from inhaling the powder. I have already got the measurements of the other dragons and I remembered Midnight's measurement of his snout in my mind. I might have to get the others to help me make the saddles when I get fabric, but getting some of the others to collaborate will be a challenge itself. Now I have to work on the weapons.

"I still don't know my sword didn't even leave a scratch on Hookfang." I wondered to

myself. I examined my sword and noticed a speck that looked different from the rest, it looked polished. I touched it and it was warm. It felt a bit like Midnight's fire. Maybe some of his fire landed on my sword. Out of curiosity, I cut the side that was touched on a scale and it made a mark. "So that's how it works." I said, "The weapon must have touched by dragon fire to harm a dragon. When I get Midnight back, I would have to have him help me perfect this. For now I have to get started on the other weapons."

First I got started, on the daggers and arrowheads for the arrows and spears. I grabbed various fangs and claws and set them aside to prepare the metal. I grabbed what scrap metal I deemed suitable and heated them enough to be melted. I then dropped those claws and fangs in the molten metal and got a mold meant for a dagger. I then pour the batch into the mold and waited for it to cool. Then I shaped it, but when I put it in the water it, the metal cracked.

What caused that? I should test its hardness just in case. I took a piece of wood and tapped on it, once the blade hit the wood, it shattered into dust. "What happened? I just don't get it, it worked with Midnight's claws and fangs." I said frustrated. Then it hit me, I tried different tiny metals with just one type of dragon species in them, and those that are a mixture of different species, and tested their hardness. As I thought, only the metal with one dragon species in them was flawless.

I set to make the weapons for the others. First I made a mace mixed with Hookfang's fangs and claws, then I made a hammer out of Meatlug's, two pairs of pole arms made of Barf and Belch's, the daggers and arrowheads out of Terry and Jade's, and an ax out of the metal from Asgerd's father's ax that I got from the arena and Stormfly's. I will get the dragons to touch these with their fire at the cove. I hope the others will approve of them, especially Asgerd since I spent extra work on his new ax. I took the weapons and the blacksmith hammer, snuck through the village and dashed for the cove.

As I hope everyone was in the cove. The dragons were just lying around, enjoying the peaceful open environment. Definitely an improvement from the cages in the killing area. The twins were out of breath, probably had a workout from learning new tactics on throwing. Asgerd, and Fishlegs were packing the food, herbs, tools, minerals, and cloaks into the baskets, while Snotlout was being lazy. He was always lazy about chores.

"Hey did you finished the weapons?" Tuff said. "Sure did." I said holding the pole arms out, "and these are for you two." "Cool!" they both said as they accepted them. "Here's a new hammer for you Fishlegs." I said. "Awesome, thanks!" he said gratefully. "Snotlout do us all a favor and be careful with this mace." I said. "Blah, blah, blah just give it to me." he said rudely. "And Asgerd I hope you don't mind, but I re-forged your father's ax with Stormfly's Fangs and claws. That supposed to make it stronger that rock, so it won't break again." I said. Asgerd was flabbergasted for words as he accepted his new and improved ax, it was almost as if he was

about to cry. "Thank you Thora." Asgerd said, not knowing what to say. "You're very welcome." I said.

"Wow, this dragon fang steel is harder than anything I have ever seen, but it feels light as a feather." Fishlegs said. "But it can cut through wood and rock smoothly without even getting a nick." I said. With that, Asgerd sliced a boulder with his new ax. "Not bad." he said.

"However, they don't work well against dragons…" I started to say. "Well so much for that!" Snotlout interrupted, as Ruff was testing it on a spare scale to prove the point that it didn't work. "Until they get touched by a dragon's flame." I finished, "So everyone take your weapons, have your dragon use their fire, and put the metal part of the weapons in there." I said.

Snotlout was indifferent to do it, but I grabbed his mace, had Hookfang use his fire, put the metal part in the fire, put it in the water, grabbed another spare scale, and poked it with the spike, shattering it to pieces. 'Oh." Snotlout stated flabbergasted. With that, everyone followed suit.

"Anyway, we best make the shields and armor out of the scales." I said. "How do you know that?" Tuffnut asked. "Scales are for defense like armor and shields and fangs and claws are fighting same as swords, axes, hammers, spears, and arrows." I explained, "Furthermore, this mask will protect the dragons from breathing in the smoke and when it is opened, it will allow them to breathe fire. I also added removable ear plugs for then we need to confuse the Red Death, but not confuse our own dragons." I explained. "Awesome." Tuffnut said, impressed, "Being smart has its advantages." "You just realized that now?" I said.

"Come on everybody, I need help making the saddles." I said, "And someone to make sure that Snotlout is doing his job right." "I don't need a babysitter!" he retorted "No, but as long as I have known you, you never been the one to follow directions. So someone needs to make sure you're doing it properly, and it might as well be me." I explained as handed out the measurements for their dragons.

For the next hour, with a lot of conflict over Snotlout's arrogance, we worked on the saddles. Then after we finished, I taught them how to get a dragon to let you get on their back and how to get them into the air and which direction to take them in. after making sure that we got everything we need, I came to the conclusion that we are ready for the task ahead.

However, it was too late to go after the ships now. "Okay, let's get some sleep, we have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow." I said. "Don't have to tell me twice." Fishlegs said as he fell asleep immediately. "Well, might as well sleep here." Tuff said. "It's better than the rack I have for a bed." Ruff replied. "Well I'm not sleepy so I'm not going to sleep in the dir…Snore…" Snotlout said. Asgerd and I followed suit and fell asleep.

The morning came and I was the first one up. Knowing time was a wasting, I woke up the others, extra effort with Snotlout, and extra careful efforts with the dragons. "Alright everyone, we got a lot of ground, or in this case sky to cover today, we need to fly most of the way there, so we need to saddle up and make sure we have everything we need, and leave as fast as we can." I said.

Everyone gathered what we needed, saddled up the dragons, made sure the everyone had gone before we left, and doubled checked the list. "Okay we don't have time to get the cloaks, and if we're all set, then we should shove off." I said.

"But which dragon are you going to be riding?" Fishlegs asked. "Well, Meatlug's too small for two riders, Hookfang doesn't seem too reliable with just one rider, and Barf and Belch seem to have their heads full with the twins, so Thora can ride with me and Stormfly if she wants." Asgerd suggested. "Thanks Asgerd." I said, "Alright, let's move out and go beyond the sky!" "Yeah!" the crew exclaimed. "Wait!" we heard an elderly voice called from behind us. We turned around and saw my grandma.

"Grandma, what are you doing here?" I asked as I walked towards her to try to explain the situation, "Look, I know we're going against Viking traditions and they are socializing with an outcast, but…" she hit the end of her staff on the ground to silenced me. "I'm not here to stop you, I'm here to give you this." She said handing me a package of medicines and herbs that we had missed, cloaks that we forgot to gather, blankets, and extra food. "Grandma." I said, flabbergasted that she still cared for me even though I'm an outcast.

"I have already known from day one what you have doing. I'm a grandmother and I need to keep a watchful eye on her, out casted or not, you are still my granddaughter. And I have seen what you have done with these creatures and I must say that this is extraordinary." She said.

"Me and your mother have always known that you were special since you were born. That very day, a single ray of light shone on you when we presented you to the village." She said, "Also, I had a vision on your birthday this year, about you facing a powerful and deadly monster and afterward, two worlds would be united. Apparently, you were destined for this. Now it's time for you to fulfill your destiny. And I know whatever may happen, you will succeed."

"Thank you." I said, giving her a great big hug, not knowing for sure if this the last time I'll see her. "Goodbye, Thora, watch out for everyone and especially your cousin, and save the world of ours and that of your dragons." She said. "I will Grandma and I love you." I said.

We packed the extra supplies and got on our dragons. "Alright everyone, let's go beyond the sky, and SAVE THE WORLD!" I said as Asgerd signal Stormfly into the air. The others followed suit and flew. The terrors were sent ahead to scout the skies before us. There was a bit of a bumpy start, but everyone got the hang of it. Now, we rode the winged creatures our people have fought for centuries to save our people and my best friend. I just hope we can make it, before it's too late.

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_


	26. Chapter 26: Through the Storm

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**How to Train Your Dragon**_

_**By Thora Diana Haddock**_

_**Chapter 26: **_Through the Storm

"There we there yet?" Fishlegs asked. "No!" I said. "There we there yet?" Snotlout groaned. "No!" I said getting increasingly annoyed. "There we there yet?" the twins asked teasingly in unison. "NNNOOO! WE ARE SUPPOSED TO ARRIVE ON THE THIRD DAY! IT'S THE SECOND DAY, SO SAVE THAT QUESTION FOR TOMORROW!" I snapped. Creating a silence. "Maybe she's more like Uncle Stoick than we thought." Snotlout stated flabbergasted.

It was noon now and there was no land in sight, just opened skies around us and seas below us and everyone was feeling like we were going around in circles. And needless to say, some of us were getting a little loopy, but nevertheless, they were getting along with their dragons, despites some setbacks.

Fishlegs was talking baby talk to Meatlug, Ruff and Tuff were fighting with each other and so were Barf and Belch, which made things worse, especially in the sky more dangerous. Snotlout kept being bossy with Hookfang and so the red dragon tried to throw him off of him and into the sea.

Asgerd on the other hand got along great with Stormfly. Not to blow my own horn, but maybe he picked up a few tips from me and Midnight. We took turns steering her, so we can take a break, which caused a little decrease in altitude when we switched. As we endure through some rough winds, I hold on tightly to Asgerd's waist. He is so warm, I feel so safe next to him.

We had to eat our food in the air, but it was difficult with winds, bumps, and steering our dragons making them fall into the ocean below us. It was also hard to eat the dragons as we tossed them to them, miss, and fall into the ocean. At least the sea creatures will be well fed.

"Hey this paste taste pretty good." Snotlout said after licking some green paste from his fingers out of a jar. "That's aloe vera." I stated loudly to Snotlout, trying to get my voice be heard over the loud wind, which is hard for a thick head like Snotlout. "So?" he asked ignorantly. "That's for soothing burns." I bluntly answered. "Well, maybe it will protect from heart burn which the way he eats." Tuff added, making us laugh except Snotlout.

Then a few hours later, there was the sound of thunder, making me flinched. The Terrors returned, squealing and flapping their wings franticly, trying to warn us about what was up ahead. Even though I'm scared of thunderstorms, I have to be strong. I straightened myself up as much as I could and told the group to hang on tight and be careful of the storm.

We entered the storm and things went completely twisted. Everyone was trying their hardest to not let go of the reins. "THORA! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?" Asgerd yelled, while trying to keep Stormfly steady and flying straight. "THORA?" but I wasn't listening, I was too busy trembling and trying to block out the sound of the thunder and the sight of lightning. "She was named after the god of thunder and she's afraid of thunderstorms?" Ruff asked. "Wasn't she always like this?" Tuff bluntly reminded his sister.

"Ha! What a baby!" Snotlout teased. When an apple got stuck into his mouth, muffling his voice. "ZIP IT, SNOTLOUT! NOW'S NOT THE TIME TO PICK ON PEOPLE!" Asgerd snapped.

"It's okay Thora, calm down, we're all right here." he comforted, "Thora, if you don't pull it together, the fleet going to fall apart." Realizing the fact that if I don't get my act together we could die. I recovered my composure, think over what Stoick would do in a situation like this, except he has ships in the ocean and not dragons in the sky. Then an idea hit me.

"Let's send Terry and Jade ahead to find a safe place to land, to wait out the storm." I said, trying to keep it together through the booming thunder. "Come on, don't be a scary cat. We can get through this little breeze." Snotlout boasted unconvincing. "We can't risk it, the dragons have been flying all day without rest, and in this 'little breeze' they won't stand a chance." I reasoned. "Yeah I could use a rest as well, and I do not want to end up twisted by a twisting storm." Fishlegs stated. "Me and Tuff second and third that." Ruff said. "Although, that might be awesome." Tuff remarked. "Not taking chances." Asgerd spoke for me.

We and the dragons hold on for what seemed like hours, we were about to lose hope until the terrors came back and lead us to where the winds seems to be getting weaker. "LAND HO!" Fishlegs yelled. "Finally!" Snotlout exclaimed. I guess he got tired of the 'little breeze' blowing him and Hookfang all over the sky.

There was an island surrounded by storms in the sky and whirlpools in the water, but it wasn't affected by the storm at all. I have heard of an island like this with a tunnel in the middle that leads to the other side of the wall of storms from stories Grandma told me. It was the Island of Weth.

"There! That island will be safe from the storm. We can make camp there and start again in the morning. We're halfway there anyway!" I yelled over the loud wind. "Good, Meatlug's going to cronk out any minute now!" Fishlegs stated as Meatlug struggled to stay awake due to exhaustion.

Once we were clear of the winds, we found a clearing near a cave that was big enough for all the dragons. I took a closer look, and I saw that the cave was really a tunnel. Then, the Aurorastone glowed. It was tunnel leading to the other side of storms on that island. That what the Aurorastone indicated. "We might as well set up camp here. But we get up at first light." I stated, "We have a long day tomorrow."

_**Don't forget to read, comment, and review in detail what you think of my other fanfictions, you might just like them as well.**_


End file.
